My Darkness, Your Light, Our Humanity
by acochran5
Summary: Zeref is the Demon lord of hell and Mavis is the Angel empress of heaven. They are bitter enemies and will not rest until the other is dead. All of their friends and family think they hate each other simply because of the ancient war between Demons and Angels. But, both Zeref and Mavis know that their hatred for the other runs much deeper. Zervis or Zeref x Mavis! COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Here I am with the multi-chapter that I promised you. I'm posting the first chapter to see what you think, so I hope you like it.**

 **Warnings: There is abuse in this. I am making a (kind of) graphic scene. It won't be too bad, but it will describe emotions and what is happening. That scene will be marked so if you don't like it, it is not necessary to the story and can be skipped. But for those of you that are okay with it and want to know more about exactly what was happening, this scene is for you. I guess there's also some religion in this, as it does center around heaven and hell, so, just in case you're offended by that. A little profanity (not bad at all). And I also mention a little PTSD. I don't think it will trigger anything (but I'm not an expert). I think that's all the warnings, but I'll be sure to add some if I forgot anything. Read at your own risk...**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairytail.**

 **Now, on a lighter note, on to the story!**

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It was a dark night, one that held many wonders, one where strange and not-so-strange things could happen. Strange things like howls in the night, miracles, like people awakening from near-death states, wonderful things like seeing a tall white-maned unicorn. But strangely, the strangest thing of all happened in a bedroom. A large one, granted, but still a bedroom. Where a beautiful woman and her child were, speaking of a story that had happened centuries before. "Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a little prince and his family. They were all very happy." A woman said, sitting on a rocking chair, holding a very small child in her arms. "They played and were filled with joy and love. They-." But before she could continue she was interrupted by the child.

"Mommy, you tell the same story every time!" The little boy cried, sitting on his mother's lap. The woman looked down at her small son with adoring eyes.

"But you love that story." His mother said surprised. The boy shook his head.

"I'm tired of that story, I want another one, please!" the boy begged with puppy dog eyes. The woman's smile turned soft again.

"Well alright then. I think I have one. It's a tale as old as time. A tale of anger, and hatred and violence!" the woman spoke sharply until her eyes softened. "But most of all it's a tale of love." The little boy, who had at first been tense now smiled and settled down. If it was a tale of love, then it would have a happy ending. "Now, once there was a man. He was the demon lord and was very wicked!" The boy gasped eyes wide, and the woman chuckled. "however, he was also very lonely. Then, there was an angel who was the most beautiful woman in the world. But she was very sad, for her best friend was gone and she too, was very lonely. They were bitter enemies, wishing for the day where the other would cease to exist."

"Is that what happened?" the child asked, concerned.

"But that was not how things happened. This tale here that I'm telling, this is their story,"

Now, in the far-off kingdom of Spriggan, the demon lord, Zeref sat on his throne, tapping his foot impatiently. He was waiting for the angel empress to arrive. He hated her, not only because she was an angel, but because she was already five minutes late. Zeref had better things to do then to waste his time on a meeting that wasn't worth his while.

Just as Zeref was about to leave and go behead one of his prisoners the door opened and there, stood the angel empress in all her glory. From the moment she entered the room Zeref felt his anger levels shoot up. He already wanted to kill her. The slave that had opened the door was trembling from fear at his expression. Zeref shot him an angry glare and the slave quickly left to attend to his chores. "My lord." The angel empress said, her eyes sharp. Zeref assessed her and decided that if there was one thing he hated, it was this woman who was acting like she was greater than him.

"My empress." He said evenly, hoping she didn't notice the barely concealed rage hidden underneath the calm of his expression. If she did, she didn't show it and merely folded her hands.

"You remember why I'm here." She said. Zeref sighed and sat back down on his throne, not realizing he had stood up.

"Yes, state your case." He grumbled. Either she didn't notice or ignored the lack of enthusiasm in his voice. She looked up at him pristinely and she started to speak. Her voice rang throughout the room like soft silver bells,

"You are aware that you are losing this war." She said. Zeref felt his rage double at that. How dare she come into his castle and then insult him like that! He wanted to rip her throat out! Still, he refrained and remained seated, although, barely. He knew he was losing, but she didn't have to rub it in his face. After all, if his parents weren't so stupid and ignorant then he might've had a chance.

"You call it losing, I call it strategical maneuvers." He said smoothly. She ignored this and continued.

"We will allow you one final chance." Zeref clenched his fists. She now, gave him an ultimatum in his own home! He was going to kill her. "Surrender and we'll allow you to retain your kingdom. However, we do demand a piece of your land and as empress of angels it's my solemn duty to ensure that you cooperate. Just so we can be official I'd like you to sign this peace treaty. It will benefit us both as there will be no more bloodshed and we shall all maintain our rights as human beings." Zeref licked his lips feeling his palms get sweaty. He knew he must be red in the face from all the feelings of hatred and anger. "If you don't, however, sign the treaty we shall destroy you and lock you in the cages you deserve to be in."

Zeref moved across the room before the empress could blink, towering over her with blood red eyes, his mouth twisted in a menacing grimace. He took one look at the treaty in her small palm and smacked it across the room. "I see you chose the violent way. Not much of a surprise, honestly." She said. The empress didn't even flinch from feeling his hot waves of anger and simply stared into his eyes like they were that of a rampaging child's. However, Zeref could see the slightest hint of sadness burning there. Zeref ignored it though and continued glaring.

"We reject your attempt at peace!" Zeref snarled and turned around, walking back up to his throne. The empress tilted her head, golden hair spilling around her feet.

"I expected nothing less, honestly. You are only savages after all." Zeref felt his shoulders tense, the rage a blinding red. He hated her, he hated everything about her. He hated her long golden hair and her sparkling emeralds for eyes, he hated her creamy soft skin and her small feminine hands. He hated her innocent demeanor and her long white garb with the fine, expensive jewels that accented it. He hated her laugh, hated the warm feeling she gave him. He hated her bare feet, so clean and perfect. He hated her beautiful white wings, shining in the sunlight, mocking him for all the joy and light he did not have. But the worst thing of all was the way she made his heart thump from just her name.

"Get out before I gut you!" Zeref screamed, whirling on her. Her eyes narrowed.

"How dare you talk to me in such a manner."

"Get out Mavis, before I do something I may or may not regret!" he snarled. Mavis glared, her eyes hard. Her golden aura warmed him, made him feel comforted, and that was another thing he hated about her. He hated the way she made him feel.

"That's empress to you." She snapped and crossed her arms. "I absolutely despise you, you monster." Zeref felt himself snap, he was so enraged that his hands trembled, and his voice was so low it sounded inhuman.

"I may be a monster." He growled. "But at least I had parents who loved me." Mavis's eyes widened, and she took a step back, her face red, like he'd just slapped her. Her father had left her when she was a child. And her mother, while she cared, had never been around when she was little because she was too busy with her job. Mavis was still slightly resentful, as the way her mother had always brushed past her had made her feel like her mother's job was more important than she was. What was worse was that word about how her parents were abandoning her, and now all of her enemies, but most specifically Zeref, threw that in her face every so often. And every time it felt like a physical blow.

"I… I…" she was speechless for all but a minute before her calm expression returned and she straightened herself.

"My parents may not love me, but at least I had a heart to forgive them. That's more than I can say about you!" she growled. Zeref pursed his lips. He knew he didn't have as good a relationship with his parents as he pretended, but no one knew that. He would never let anyone know that.

She was talking figuratively of course, to convey the fact that she thought him so monstrous he did not have a heart. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice she was gone until the rage left him, and he was standing in the middle of the throne room, alone.

Zeref sighed, knowing he'd messed up. Now the angel empress was furious, and it was all his fault. Zeref slowly sat back on his throne, knowing that nothing that interesting would happen for a long while.

After about ten minutes, the silence had ebbed Zeref's anger away and he felt boredom start to creep up like a tiger crept up on a gazelle. So, Zeref decided, feeling better, that he'd go torture one of the slaves.

No, he didn't mean he was going to whip them. He had trauma from a whip, but that was another story. He was only going to go goad them. He knew he was a jerk. He also knew that some people would use a stronger word than that.

So, Zeref started walking down the halls, looking for a perfect target. Most of the slaves were lowly demons that had nothing better to do then to serve him. But, there was a select few humans that worked as slaves in his castle.

To be honest, they gave the best reactions and it was always fun to see how they would react to which insult. Half of the humans either coward and took it or ignored him and continued on with their chores (those humans weren't much fun). But there were a few that would be enraged and attack him. Those were the best reactions. Especially since Zeref got to punish them.

As Zeref walked down the hall he found the perfect target. A human who had worked in his castle since he was five. Now, he was ten. To be honest, Zeref was surprised the boy lasted so long, since between the labor and the conditions, most slaves didn't last anywhere near five years.

Now, Zeref thought that this boy was very interesting. Sometimes he was as quick to throw a punch as a fire cracker, other times he was as meek as a newborn kitten. Zeref walked up to the young boy, already having an insult that was sure to work him up.

"Oh, Gray!" he said in a sing-song voice. The boy turned to him, his eyes dead.

"What?" he asked flatly. Zeref sighed and rolled his eyes. Then, he pointed to the top of Gray's head.

"Say, is that a rock, or your face?" Zeref asked. Gray scowled.

"Neither." Zeref pretended to look confused before he realized.

"Oh, that's right, it's your brain." That seemed to work. Gray was an emotional roller coaster that Zeref never even tried to comprehend. Gray growled and ran at him, throwing his bucket down and punched Zeref, right in the gut. Zeref didn't even flinch and watched as Gray pulled back, cradling his fist.

That's when Zeref started laughing. "Did you seriously just hurt your hand by punching me?" Gray glared at him and then slammed him with the other fist. Soon, he was cradling that one too. That made Zeref laugh louder as Gray muttered hisses and ouches and other words that Zeref didn't think should be in the vocabulary of a ten-year-old.

"Ah, ah, ah, language!" Zeref reminded him in a motherly tone. Gray glared at him.

"Go to hell!" he snarled. That only made Zeref smirk.

"Well, actually I'm already there so…" Zeref shrugged. "Now, about your language and disrespect, is that any way to talk to your master?" Zeref asked grabbing his ear and pulling. Gray cried out in pain.

"N-no, no it isn't!"

"No, it isn't. I won't have such disrespect around here. You will have to be punished." Zeref said and started dragging the poor boy off.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Gray, seeming to forget his dignity, started crying. Only that reminded him that Gray was still a child.

"Now then…" Zeref said, walking into the infirmary. "Oh, Porlyusica! Wittle Gway has a boo-boo." Zeref said babyishly, finally letting go of Gray's ear.

"I-I do not!" Gray cried, wiping at his eyes. Zeref raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Well then, I can fix that." Zeref said, and patted Gray on the cheek. Well… it was supposed to be a pat anyway. Zeref had never been to good at controlling his strength. Gray cried out and flew backwards, holding his cheek for a moment, before passing out. Zeref barely caught his wrist and pulled him up on the bed. Zeref hadn't thought that he'd hit too hard, as he didn't want to accidentally break Gray's head open, however he apparently hadn't held back as much as he should've either. Zeref also thought, that passing out was a bit of an extreme reaction. Typical of weak, fragile humans.

Then, Porlyusica came in and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, smacking him? I can't believe you sometimes." Zeref shrugged.

"Well, it wasn't supposed to be a smack, but I was going to punish him anyway so it all worked out." Porlyusica sighed. "Why? You jealous of the bruise that's going to form, I can give you one to match." The fallen angel turned to him with deep, red eyes.

"Or, I can give you a good spanking with my broom stick." Zeref blinked and then shuddered. She wasn't kidding… Zeref had found that out the hard way. He and that broom did not have fond memories of each other.

"Sorry, ma'am." Zeref said with a nervous chuckle. Porlyusica sighed and turned back to Gray's injuries.

"Honestly Zeref, he's a human child, you can't be so rough."

"I can do whatever the hell I please. I'm king now, after all." Zeref countered. Porlyusica shook her head.

"I know. Your mother and I feared that day." Zeref scowled at her and clucked his tongue.

"Ye of little faith." He said.

"Don't get me wrong, child, you have a good heart and the spirit to rule, but your reckless and childish and enraged." Looking at Gray she added, "I think you broke his cheek bone." Zeref crossed his arms scowling at the floor.

"Well it's not my fault… I tried to control my strength! Besides, he had it coming." Porlyusica turned and glared at him with such heat Zeref thought for a moment that he would simply turn to ash. Porlyusica grabbed her broom and started swatting at him.

"Out, out of my office! I hate humans!" the last thing Zeref said, before the office door was slammed in his face was,

"I'm not a human!"

Zeref stared at the slammed door and sighed. Porlyusica was always screaming about how she hated humans, but really Zeref thought she simply hated everyone. Now, Zeref figured he should probably go talk to his generals about what to do in the upcoming battle.

Just thinking about it filled him with rage. Zeref walked down the confusing hallways with several twists and turns. A long time to go, Zeref's great, great, great- several more great, grandparents had designed this castle as a maze. They did so because anyone storming the castle would get completely lost. Many slaves knew every hall in this palace as did all his other subordinates. If you didn't know exactly where you were going you would get lost in a matter of minutes. Especially since the walls moved all the time.

Each hour the walls shifted to create new pathways to different rooms, so only those that lived in the castle for years knew the sequence. There was a different pattern for everyday of the week, and even the most knowledgeable of his generals didn't know all the all the secrets the castle. Not even his parents had known, nor had any generation since his grandparents had built it. Not even Zeref knew all the secrets his own castle had.

Still, it was fairly simple to get to all the rooms in the castle, it's just that it was nearly impossible to know all the ways to get there. Especially since the combinations changed every month. A person with average intellect and average memory would never be able to live in this castle. It was the most elaborate maze of all time.

"My lord, what are you going to do?" Zeref dragged himself out of thinking about his castle. Really, it was a boring thing to think about, however Zeref would rather think about anything other than this war. It helped to calm the rage settled deep in his soul.

"We need to reassess our strategy." Zeref said. His twelve most trusted generals stared at him with doubt in their eyes. "What? You don't think we can win even with a new strategy?" Zeref asked, leaning forward his hands in the famous steeple position. Invel, his most loyal subordinate quickly shook his head.

"No, my lord! We would never doubt you!" Zeref titled his head, staring down the rest of his generals.

"Then explain the looks of doubt on each of your faces." All of the Spriggan twelve exchanged looks with each other.

"Well, my lord." August started, "You see, it's just that no matter what strategy we try, that only seems to make the situation worse. We think, that perhaps you should sign the peace treaty. It's only a tiny bit of land, no more bloodshed, and we all retain our-." Zeref slammed his fists on the table. He could take that his generals didn't think his plans would work, because it was a fact. Their change of strategy had never worked. However, what he could not take was that they were suggesting he actually sign that stupid peace treaty.

"Insubordination!" he hissed, tempted to show exactly what happened to generals who defied him in such a way. "It is the principle of the peace treaty, you idiots! If we sign it, we are telling them that we are the lesser species, that we will bend over backwards if they whip us enough. Well we won't! I won't give in to demands made by a stupid angel who doesn't even know the meaning of suffer. They're soft, ignorant creatures who live in heaven where everything's sunshine and rainbows. Well guess what, they're the stupid creatures, not us! We know the meaning of pain. Don't you remember what she did to us!" Zeref screamed, his eyes burning red. Zeref didn't normally have a temper, but when it came to angels, and most specifically the empress, Zeref found that the tiny candle turned into a blazing bonfire within mere seconds. He honestly didn't remember why he hated the empress so much, nor did he understand why he'd said what _she_ did to us and not they. It had just slipped out and Zeref didn't try to take it back.

His generals looked down, obviously ashamed of what they had suggested. Zeref was left panting, exhausted from all his rage. "Out." He ordered, pointing to the door.

"My lord, I only wanted to preserve our dignity." August said quietly. Zeref looked up from the table, glaring at August with an obvious killer intent.

"Dignity." He seethed. "You know nothing of what that means! Now, get out, before I decide to punish you for your mutiny." Zeref sneered. August stood there for a moment longer before bowing his head.

"Yes, my lord." Then he, and the rest of the Spriggan twelve left him. Zeref gulped and felt his regret start to ebb away at the rage. He shouldn't have yelled at them. They were only trying to help him.

"I am the demon lord, Zeref." He said to himself. "And I do not need help." Zeref knew he had lost his dignity long ago, so now, such a word meant nothing to him. Not since that day.

Zeref shuddered when the memory played through his mind. Helplessness, indignity, anger, regret, grief, humiliation, and fear grabbed him by the throat, making him let out several strangled breaths.

Hands, grabbed him, he screamed and whirled around. Gray stood behind him, blinking incredulously. "Um… lady Anna wanted to see you." Gray said, a huge bruise covering the left side of his face.

Zeref released a breath of air and then chuckled a little, although it was more from relief than joy. "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to sneak up on someone." The boy only stared at him, unblinking.

"You know very well that I don't have parents." Gray said dryly.

Zeref wanted to tell him then, that he was lucky. He got to live without knowledge of his parents. And in Zeref's opinion, ignorance was better than knowing just what lengths parents would go to, to attain your full obedience. But, he knew that it would come out wrong, so he didn't say a word. "I gave you a pretty nasty bruise there, didn't I?" Zeref chuckled, gently turning the boy's face. Gray didn't respond and simply allowed him to assess the damage. "By the way, you seemed worked up by something earlier, what was it?" Gray stared at him.

"I… uh… I got out of the shower and someone saw me naked." Gray said blankly. Zeref made a disgusted face.

"Next time just tell me that you don't want to talk about it." Gray shrugged.

"Don't care, but if you don't go talk to Anna she's going to get really mad at you."

"Yeah, yeah, do you know where she is."

"In the library." Gray responded. "Now, lady Porlyusica says I need an icepack. So, if you'll excuse me." Zeref scowled at him.

"One of these days I'm going to hang you."

"Oh, I can't wait." Gray said sarcastically. Zeref smirked and ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, neither can I, kid."

Zeref then left because it wasn't a good idea to keep Anna waiting. If he did then it was very likely that he was going to be hanged next, rather than Gray.

"Anna?" Zeref said, slowly walking into the library. Anna didn't exactly like him because he kept her prisoner in the castle and threatened that he would kill her niece if she didn't tell him everything she knew. Zeref knew he could follow through on no such threat, as he didn't have her niece, but Anna didn't know that, and she was not willing to risk it.

To be honest, Zeref wasn't sure what he would find. She killed many slaves of his in a month, so Zeref made sure to send all the slaves he despised in here. Unfortunately for him, the slave he disliked the most (Gray) was the only slave that had come out alive. How unfortunate, however Zeref did admit that it only made him more amusing. Zeref recognized that without Gray his life would be even duller and if Anna and Porlyusica were gone then Zeref would be one of those kings that never left his throne room. "Are you in here?" Anna had full reign of the west wing of the castle, so Zeref could honestly never be sure where she was roaming. He held no fear, however, because everyone knew not to enter the west wing unless they were a general, captain, or a slave that Zeref sent in.

"You're here." Anna said. Zeref crossed his arms with an amused expression.

"Now, why wouldn't I be?" he asked. Anna didn't comment and crossed her arms.

"I hear that the angels are whipping you in terms of everything." Anna said. Zeref felt his anger rise again at the mention of angels. He gritted his teeth.

"Oh, and how do you know that?"

"A little birdy told me." She said, smirking. Gray, that stupid child!

"I'm going to kill that kid!" Zeref said, outraged. Anna shrugged and placed her chin in her palm, doe brown eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Oh, I don't think you want to do that. You are many things my lord but heartless is fortunately not one of them." Zeref sneered.

"And just what makes you think that?"

"The fact that, if it was, you would've killed him and everyone else in this castle a long time ago." Zeref rolled his eyes.

"Keeping them around is not because I care, but because I actually have a brain."

"Well, isn't that a surprise." Zeref had to resist the urge to strangle her.

"What do you want!" he snarled. Anna stood from her seat in the library and flipped her long golden hair over her shoulder.

"I only wanted to tell you a way to win." Anna said. Zeref froze, his rage freezing within him. Anna, wanting to help him, did not sound quite right.

"You… want to…" Zeref couldn't even say the word.

"The dumbfounded expression on your face is hilarious." Anna said, smirking.

"But-but I-." Zeref blubbered, not sure what to say. Anna sashayed up to him and patted his cheek.

"Think about what you want to say before you speak, dear, otherwise you come off as rather stupid." Zeref blinked, knowing his mouth dropped open only because Anna closed it with her finger. "Now, listen very closely." Anna whispered, "I'm not helping you because I like you in any way, shape or form. I'm simply helping you because it benefits me."

"H-how does it benefit you."

"Haven't you noticed, that ever since I've been here, that you have not seen my wings even once." Zeref didn't answer her. He hadn't, but he'd never thought about it either.

"Well, no, but now that you mention it, yes." Anna clucked her tongue.

"I see, you're very unobservant, aren't you?"

"Don't patronize me." Zeref said, his eyes narrowing. Anna giggled and took a step back.

"Well, the truth is, that I'm a fallen angel. The only reason your father was able to trap me, and the only reason I haven't escaped is because I'm fallen, my wings stripped from me. If I had my true power, I would've killed you the moment you thought you could take me." Zeref sneered.

"I'm sorry, lady Anna, but you and I both now that you haven't the power for that."

"Don't be so sure my lord, you know nothing of the power I possessed before I became fallen." She hissed. "They abandoned me and believe me, while I hate you, I would like to see them fall for once." Zeref tilted his head.

"So, you are driven by revenge. I see. How interesting." Zeref said, his expression curious.

A fallen Angel was an Angel who had been removed from heaven due to the breaking of their laws. Their wings were removed and their power split in half, their body mortal and aging. "How did you fall?" Zeref asked. Anna crossed her arms.

"Curious, aren't we." Zeref only smirked.

"You know me, I love a good story." Anna chuckled and crossed her arms.

"Well, then you'll love this. They kicked me out because I fell in love with one of yours." Zeref's eyebrows furrowed. How amusing. Anna sighed. "I knew he would never love me back, but I also knew I couldn't be one of them if it meant that I had to deny my feelings."

"Deny… your feelings." Zeref said, concept foreign to him. "I see, what a surprise." Zeref said. Anna looked out one of the library windows at the mass of rock and dirt beyond.

"So, do you want to know, or not?" Anna asked, turning to him. Zeref had forgotten about her wanting to help him, as this new information had been so… informative. It explained a lot of things about Anna, like why she never even tried to escape, and why she told him things even though he knew she was too smart to really believe that Zeref had her niece.

"I'm listening." Zeref said, really wanting to hear what Anna had to say. What she told him, shocked the demon lord greatly.

"Feelings of hopelessness and despair?" Zeref asked. "But… why would that have any affect?" Anna rolled her eyes.

"Don't you know anything?" she asked, sighing.

"Well forgive me for not understanding a species that's the exact opposite of my own." Zeref said sarcastically. Anna sighed and crossed her arms.

"Well you see, angels thrive on feelings of happiness and hope. It's what gives them power. If you make them feel hopeless, then their power is cut in half at the very least." Zeref sighed.

"That doesn't exactly help. How do we make them feel things are hopeless when they know they've basically got this war in the bag?"

"Unlike demons, who prefer to operate on their own, angels have a need for others." Zeref stared at her in confusion. Needed others? What did she mean by that. "They thrive on team work and leadership, and are honestly, very dependent. And while that makes them strong, as they would die to protect their own, it also makes them very weak. They need a leader and they need someone to be there for them. If they're split up, then they will all fall apart."

Zeref frowned, wondering where she was going with all of this. Needing others, and wanting others was nothing short of a miracle to him. Why would anyone want to depend on others when the only truly reliable person is yourself. "But, why do they need others?" Zeref asked, confused.

"Because it's just their nature." Anna told him. "I know you don't understand because you feel that the only one you can trust is yourself. I understand that it would frighten you to have to rely on someone else, but the angels aren't like you. They need each other, and it will be their undoing."

"What compels them? You say it's their nature but you and I both know that's not true and neither of us are stupid enough to pretend it is. It's not their nature, it's their society." Zeref said. "They need and want each other because they are taught to feel that way." Zeref leaned forward and tilted his head so he could look Anna in the eye. "If a baby angel was brought to this castle and grew up the same way all child demons do, then it would be just as ruthless. It would depend on itself just as much as any other demon. I think the same could be said for if a demon child was brought to heaven and raised as any other angel child. It would learn to depend on others. It would learn that unity is not a weakness but a strength. It isn't nature that shapes us into who we are, it's society."

"I suppose that's true." Anna said quietly. "But can you really blame it? If society changes us into who we are then, maybe it's needed to find out who we truly are."

"Society is designed to segregate. It is nothing but a tool, it does not have to do with emotion or who you are, and it does not help us find who we truly are, but soughts to destroy our individuality so that we only know how to behave a certain way." Zeref's eyes were hard and they never left Anna's. "Even the strongest will bend over backwards to the will of our society. And if that's the case then no matter what we're told we were not born equal, because society is not equal, nor is anything else. And it's society that tells us that." Zeref said. "So, what is it you're trying to tell me exactly?" Anna swallowed, her brown eyes lit with a certain fire that could not be put out.

"I will tell you this only once, demon lord." She said quietly, her next words shocking him into silence. It was unlike an angel, even a fallen, to resort to violence, but it was very obvious at this point that Anna was not an ordinary angel. "Kill the angel empress and you shall win the war."

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 **A/N Hope you liked it and I'm sorry for any errors. If something didn't make sense to you then you can review or pm me, asking about it. As always, thanks for reading, reviews and constructive criticism appreciated.**

 **Here's a little story on how this chapter was made. Okay, so it was like... midnight and I was almost done with the chapter. Like, I only had a few more pages to go. So, I was sitting there typing away, click clack, click clack, when suddenly, my computer freezes up! At first, I'm a little panicked because NOTHING works. Not even the power button seemed to work. So then, I got the genius idea of holding the power button down longer than I'd normally have to. Thankfully, my laptop turned off. So then, I power it back on, log in, the good stuff. But as I'm doing that I suddenly realize that... I didn't save my document. And I know some of you are thinking, autosave, duh! But I mean I didn't save the document! Meaning that I hadn't created a file for it at all! Still, I hoped. So I went to auto save and on the side one of the auto saves says, document 2, which was the "file name" at that time. Relieved, I clicked it but then I immediately notice that none of my work's there. Then I understand that the last time it autosaved was at noon that day when the only word I had written, was "it"... I erased that word. There are not words powerful enough to describe the emotions within me. Pure, white anger. I nearly threw the stupid thing across the room. So, I was up... till 2 a.m, writing this chapter. And I learned a lesson... always save your files every few minutes... *sigh***


	2. Chapter 2

"My lady, what is troubling you?" Lucy asked quietly, walking up to her best friend, as well as her empress. "I'm guessing that the meeting with lord Zeref did not go as you had expected?" Mavis turned to look at the young noble, sadness in her gaze.

"No, it went exactly like I had expected just… just not as I'd hoped." Mavis said, frowning. "I expected him to reject our treaty but somewhere within me, I fruitlessly hoped he would accept." Mavis turned toward Lucy and smiled. "But that's okay because… we'll just utterly destroy their race." Then, Mavis stood, power radiating from her. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's not like they don't deserve it. They interfere with the human race. It's stated specifically in the rules, that we must never do such things." Mavis shook her head. "Come, I have much to discuss with my squadrons."

"Ah, but empress!" Lucy cried, with concern in her gaze. "Lord Zeref he… he's far too powerful. None of our squadrons can take him on. Remember, he even took out commander Erza!" Lucy cried. Erza, besides the empress, was the most powerful angel to ever rise in the ranks, and the first woman to ever become commander of a squadron. Mavis sighed and turned to her.

"Yes, you're right, Lucy." Mavis frowned, looking at the little girl. "But Erza is not as experienced as many fighters. You and I both know this. She would've been able to hold her own, had she not been so young." Mavis said. Lucy looked at her feet with sadness in her gaze.

"But empress… what if he hurts you?" Mavis rose back up to her full height and looked out her bedroom window, looking out at the clouds beyond.

"He won't. Lord Zeref is powerful however, we have something that he does not."

"What's that lady Mavis?"

"We have friends." Mavis answered Lucy, with a smile. "And don't you remember what I told you?"

Lucy tilted her head and smiled. "What you can't do alone, you can always do with a friend." Mavis smiled and nodded.

"That's right, little one, now I have to make a visit." Lucy giggled.

"Are you going to go see that demon again?" Lucy asked. Mavis did not look so jovial, but she nodded, still smiling.

"Yes Lucy, that's right little princess." Mavis said. "Now go on, play with your friends." Mavis told her. The child grinned and ran off happily calling out to Juvia and Levy, her best friends.

When Lucy left Mavis's, expression turned grave. Then, she turned and walked down the brightly lit halls of her marble castle. Her eyes were determined, even though the white halls of her castle made her feel empty, and the memories of walking down the halls with someone else filled her mind. Now, she walked alone.

When she made it to the very last floor of the castle she met the guard, Yuri, at the door. "Good evening princess." Yuri said, a huge grin on his face. Mavis sighed and giggled.

"Oh Yuri, you know I'm not a princess anymore." She said, smiling fondly. Yuri shrugged before his eyes turned more serious.

"Are you here to see the demon?" he asked. Mavis's expression darkened, and she nodded solemnly.

"I am." She said gravely. Yuri nodded and stepped out of the way, opening the door to let her pass. Her bare feet slapped across the floor as she made her way down to the back of the prison. As she neared the cell in the back she heard whimpers and muttering. "Demon." She said loudly, stepping in front of the cell. A child looked up at her, salmon hair spiking up around his head. An odd color for a demon, usually they had either black or red hair. The child looked up, his eyes wide with fear.

"W-when my brother figures out where you've taken me, he'll come and kill you!" the child demon cried quickly, immediately retreating into the corner. "Then you'll be sorry."

"And who, pray tell, is this brother you speak of?"

"Zeref-nii is the lord of all demons, and he'll cut you open and rip all your insides out before burning them all to a crisp!" Coming from a child, the threats were even more disturbing. But one part made Mavis freeze.

"Lord Zeref… is your brother." Mavis said quietly, already knowing that if this was true, then she was as good as dead. Natsu smirked amusedly as he looked at her.

"I recognize it. The smell of fear." He said. Mavis blinked and clenched her fists. Even this demon, who was a child, was disgustingly violent and angry. Animalistic.

"Tell me, demon-."

"My name is Natsu!" Natsu growled, seeming to instantly forget his fear, knowing Mavis was afraid, standing up, and gripping the bars so hard his knuckles were turning white. "And you better let me go, because if you don't, the second I get out of here I'm going to rip you stupid angels apart!" Mavis faced him calmly with her calculating gaze, assessing him.

"Tell me… Natsu, do you even know the meaning of compassion?" Mavis asked, truly wondering if demons taught their children the meaning of that word. She highly doubted they did, but just in case, she did want to know. She had always been a curious person.

"C-con-pas-on?" Mavis looked at him, rolling her eyes. That answered her question.

"I guess not." Mavis said dryly.

"You shouldn't go around making up words." Natsu said, crossing his arms. "It's not very nice." Mavis's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, so "making up" words isn't nice, but threatening to burn someone alive is completely acceptable." Natsu blinked looking at her like she was the stupidest being in the universe.

"Number 1, no one said you'd be alive for the burning. Number 2, I think threatening your kidnapper is perfectly acceptable." Natsu said matter of factly.

then certainly it's alright to threaten the kidnappee?" she said finally.

"Kidnappee's not a word." Natsu said, crossing his arms. "You know, I think I'm starting to understand why my brother hates you all so much." Mavis scoffed.

"You mean besides the fact that it's in his nature?" Mavis asked. Natsu shrugged.

"It's not because it's our nature, it's because your society molds you into stuck-up prudes. That makes me hate you." Natsu said. Mavis furrowed her eyebrows and smoothed her dress down.

"We're not prudes, you're hooligans." Mavis told him.

"Okay." Natsu said blandly, sitting down on the bed, his back turned to her. Mavis sighed at his uncooperativeness and crossed her arms.

"I cannot believe you! How can one person be so frustrating? Stop, being so… so… demonic!" she growled. Natsu turned to her, his eyes alight with a certain mischief that Mavis did not appreciate.

"Why?" Natsu asked. Mavis took a deep breath, turned around, and left. She always thought herself to be good with children. Angel children, anyway. Apparently, she had no idea how to handle a demon child. Mavis stormed out of the prison, with that look of annoyance and frustration written all over her face.

"Uh oh, what happened, princess?" Yuri asked.

"I… I don't-I just can't… I apparently don't know how to keep my cool around demon children. I stood in front of the demon lord today and remained expressionless almost the entire time, but I spend 5 minutes in there with that child and now I want to punch something!"

"Woah, I'll just take a step back then." Yuri said, chuckling. "Listen, I think I know how to handle him. I've seen how demons handle their children." Mavis sighed and turned to him, looking tired.

"Really, how?"

"I've seen demon parents simply smack their child across the face." Mavis blinked at him, expressionless. But on the inside, she was horrified.

"You… you can't be serious." Yuri's face was grave, his eyes held the utmost sincerity.

"I am utterly serious." Mavis thought about all the demons her trained military had fought and come back wounded from battle. Those demons had superhuman strength and Mavis wasn't sure if they knew the meaning of hold back. "I've seen kid's heads pop right off. And the parents keep on going like it means nothing." Mavis's brows furrowed.

"So… your saying that demons don't hold an emotional attachment to their kin?"

"No… why? Did you think they did?"  
"Ah… well, I just hadn't really thought about it." Mavis looked somewhat relieved at that. Yuri tilted his head in confusion. "Sorry it's just… that child claims to be the demon king's brother." Mavis said, but really, if demons didn't hold an emotional attachment to their kin, then it didn't really matter whether she had kidnapped him or not.

"Oh, you don't have to worry. The demon king is completely heartless when it comes to emotional connection. Mavis frowned and crossed her arms.

"I guess your right… well, if that's the case then I suppose we needn't worry." Yuri nodded.

"Just get over there and give him a slap, he'll sober up pretty quick." Mavis nodded and took deep breaths. "You're going back in?"

"Yes, I'm calm now, I believe I can talk to him calmly. And no, I am not smacking him." Mavis said. "Let's leave the brutality to the demons." Yuri shrugged.

"Only a suggestion. It probably wouldn't be the first time that kid has gotten the backhand." Mavis nodded and straightened herself before walking back in to what she knew was another version of hell. As she walked, she thought about what it meant to be demon. She had almost no idea of their customs or how they ran things. She really didn't know anything at all. She had only met one demon, well, two now. Natsu, and the demon king.

Really, she didn't even know if they were monsters or not. All she had to go on was the fiery little kid in her cell, and the cold, hatred-filled eyes of the demon king.

Just thinking about those red eyes, burning with rage sent shivers down her spine. He wasn't anything but a monster. Not with a look like that.

"So, you're back." Natsu said, sounding somewhat surprised.

"Yes, I am." Mavis said calmly her eyes determined. "Now, first I want you to tell me if your brother's ever hit you." Natsu scowled at her.

"Nii-chan is the kindest person in the world. You're the one who's monstrous!" Natsu spat. "How dare you accuse him of hitting me!" Mavis lifted her hands up in surrender.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Mavis said. "I'm simply asking a question, not accusing anyone of anything. Although, the way your so defensive makes me suspicious." Natsu scowled at her.

"Even if he did, there's nothing you can do about it, so why bother having a piece of useless information?" Natsu asked.

"I'll admit that I understand your way of thinking, although I'm not going to coddle you if he has. I was simply curious."

"Well don't be!" Natsu growled. Mavis shrugged.

"Fine, you don't have to answer, but what you do have to answer is this. Tell me, what do you know about the demon king's castle? You are the prince, right?" Natsu rolled his eyes.

"The only thing I'm telling you is that if you plan on storming the castle then you're even more stupid then I thought you were. If you do decide to ignore my advice and go anyway and try to overtake the kingdom from the inside then three words; you, will, lose." Natsu said, glaring at the white cell wall.

Mavis thought that was a bit ignorant of him. To be so certain of something so… uncertain. If they had the right knowledge, tools, advantages, and strategy then they could destroy any castle.

"It's impossible, so you might as well give up." Natsu said with a shrug. Mavis shook her head.

"I don't think so. We will never stop. The demon race is losing. They will never win because the angels of heaven will destroy those monsters and obliterate their evil existence just as they deserve." Mavis said.

Natsu stared at her like she was an alien. "You know, for being angels you're rather monstrous, assuming, and ignorant. Did you ever think to talk to us rather than making enemies of us and labeling us as creatures rather than as equals? Did you ever think compromise, ask us to stop taking humans rather than declare war on us? Did you ever think that maybe we have feelings too and feel angry and frustrated when you refuse to see us as anything more than monsters?" Mavis felt her anger increasing by the moment.

"Well… how can I not think your monstrous when parents murder their children without a second thought!"

"Oh yeah? And who told you that?"

"Yuri Dreyer, captain of my 4th squadron!"

"And have you ever thought that maybe he didn't see correctly, or didn't understand what was happening? We demons are as tough as nails and a little backhanding wouldn't kill us. Yes, adult demons have incredible strength and durability, but so do child demons. I'll tell you this, and because you've killed so many of our kind you should honestly know it by now. The only way to kill us is to stab us in our hearts. Even if our head pops off it's just a head! You can sew it back on." Natsu said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Mavis didn't like being talked down to by a child, however that didn't mean that she didn't listen. His words honestly made sense and while she disliked it she had to admit that he was probably right. They were talking about his kind after all.

"I guess… I never thought about it." Mavis said quietly. The thought of demons having feelings was rather foreign to her. "Do… you have feelings?" Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Well, of course I do!" Natsu cried. "What do you think? If I was a monster, then I wouldn't be talking and yelling and stuff!" Natsu growled. Mavis frowned and grabbed the bars.

"Then tell me, Natsu, how do we defeat you and your kind? How do we win this war?" Mavis asked, crossing her arms.

"And why would I tell you?" Natsu asked.

"Because if you don't there will be some major consequences." Natsu sneered and at that moment his face looked so much like Zeref's Mavis found it disturbing.

"Like what?" Natsu asked. Mavis raised an eyebrow.

"Like, you'll be in time out for a very long time." Mavis said. Natsu glared at her.

"You can't do that!" Natsu cried.

"Watch me."

"I'm already in a cell! It doesn't get any more time out than this!"

"It does if I make you sit in a chair in the corner." Mavis growled crossing her arms.

"You can't!" Natsu complained. "Only my brother can put me in time out! Everyone else is lesser than me." Natsu growled, pouting. Mavis raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm just as powerful as this brother you speak of, so, you should listen to what I say." Natsu scoffed.

"As powerful as my brother? You've got to be joking." Natsu said, chuckling. Mavis sighed and crossed her arms.

"My power is meant to heal and create life, unlike his which is meant to destroy and kill. Our powers are different, that doesn't mean that they're not equally powerful." Mavis said.

"You know, I think that's exactly what it means. I mean how are you going to kill anyone with the power of life and healing?"

"Is that all you demons every think about?" Mavis asked incredulously. "You do realize that there are lots of types of healing."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"Like… healing someone of their evil nature." Natsu blinked at her and shook his head looking at her with a confused face.

"What is wrong with you? We're not evil! And it's not our nature! Just what made you think so narrowly?" Natsu asked.

"It's not thinking narrowly. I'm going off my own experiences and facts given to me by my subordinates!" Mavis growled.

"Going off of your own experience? Just what kind of experience have you had?"

"Well, I… I just met lord Zeref today and he was less than pleasant."

"What were you meeting nii-chan about?"

"We were meeting about a peace treaty." Natsu gave her an incredulous look.

"Well of course he wasn't… pleasant, as you put it. Zeref has a huge problem with angels number one, and if you're treating him like you're treating me, then he's gonna be super furious." Natsu said like it was obvious. "I mean, how would you like to be talked to like you were a creature of complete evil who is no more intelligent than an animal."

"Well, I guess… that might make me just a tad bit… angry." Mavis said quietly.

"Oh, you think so, huh?" Natsu asked with that little glare on his face. "What else might tick you off? How bout getting locked in a cage for doing absolutely nothing wrong!"

"Your brother took Anna Heartfillia." Mavis said. "It was time we returned the favor."

Natsu sneered. "Oh, don't go around pretending that she was important to you! We've had her for years, and I happen to know that the only reason we found her was exactly because you didn't care about her!"

"What are you talking about? We loved her! It was the demons that tempted her over and converted her into your evil ways!"

"Just how STUPID can one person be?" Mavis narrowed her eyes.

"I happen to be one of the brightest minds that history has ever seen. Not to mention, that it's hard to see your kind as beings that have emotion when you constantly rip mine apart!"

"That's only because you attack us and patronize us! I admit that we are violent, especially towards you, but that's only because you make our blood boil! We don't mean to be hostile but… you just make me so mad!" Natsu growled. Mavis gave him a strange look. "I can't control it."

"But I've done practically nothing to you." Mavis said. Natsu sighed and leaned back.

"Listen, I don't know why, it's just that you make me mad okay, nothing personal, sheesh. I didn't know angels took everything to heart."

Mavis tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear. "Why?" she asked. Natsu shrugged.

"It's not like I can explain it. It's just a thing."

"Well, it's a thing that I very much dislike." Mavis said. "How dare you be angry with me when you don't even know me!"  
"How is presuming we're heartless before you even know our names different in any way."

"Well… it's different because… because your demons." Even Mavis knew that was a cheap answer and one that wasn't appreciated. Natsu's expression this time however, didn't turn frustrated or angry, but his smirk quirked upwards a little.

"What?" Mavis asked. Natsu only looked at her smugly and leaned back against the wall.

"I told you he'd come. My nii-chan would never leave me." Natsu said. Mavis's eyebrows furrowed.

"You mean… he's here?" Mavis asked quietly.

"Well, no, not yet." Natsu's smirk turned menacing and what Mavis could only describe as evil. "But he will be soon." Natsu added. Mavis took a few steps back, before fleeing out of the prison.

"Princess, what's wrong?" Yuri asked, concerned.

"What do you mean what's wrong!" Mavis cried. Now she could feel it, the overwhelming sense of dread that built up within her. "Can't you feel it!" Yuri frowned and looked confused. Mavis gave him an anxious look and Yuri slowly closed his eyes. The moment he did they shot open again.

"Death." He whispered. Such an overwhelming amount of it.

"He's coming…" Mavis whispered. "We have to intercept before he reaches the castle! Go, get the guards!" Mavis ordered before running back up the stairs. She knew she had to get the civilians to safety, but the person most on her mind was little Lucy.

Mavis burst into Lucy's room. Lucy was playing there with her two little friends. Dolls, on the floor. Mavis let out a sigh of relief. They'd noticed in time. The demons weren't here yet. She could still get everyone to safety. Mavis briskly walked over to the girl she'd known since she was born. Lucy felt like a little sister to her and she was not about to let her get caught up in this violent war.

"Lucy." Mavis said. "Come, we must leave."

"Leave, why would we…" Lucy trailed off and her eyes shifted so she was looking behind Mavis. The angel empress frowned.

"Lucy… what's wrong?" Mavis asked concernedly. Lucy didn't answer her and kept staring.

Feeling a sense of dread like she'd never felt before start to creep up within her Mavis remained frozen. Never had such terror gripped her. "Well, hello angel." She heard a whisper in her ear. Mavis licked her lips as memories flashed before her eyes. Memories of those exact words played over and over in her mind. Angel… her nickname.

"Zeref." She whispered.

"That's lord Zeref to you." Mavis whirled around her hands prepared for the blast of dark magic that spewed from his palm. "Well, you're still fast aren't you." He disappeared from sight, or at least, that's how it would appear to normal humans. Mavis barely followed his movements and shoved her hands forward, golden aura emanating from her body.

"You will pay for your insolence." Mavis said, her eyes dark and determined. Light filled the room, blinding anyone but Mavis as she soared through the light like it was nothing more than a simple nightlight. Zeref's eyes squinted shut as he couldn't see anything in such light. But he heard her voice. "This is a magic called holy light. And it blinds beings of the darkness." Zeref couldn't sense her, because she was everywhere her voice sending little arrows of rage down his spine. "And this…" he felt a hand touch his back. Zeref growled, moving so quickly not even Mavis could follow it.

That's when she felt it, the blow to her face so hard she flew and smacked against the wall. Mavis grunted before sliding to the floor. She just barely dodged the next attack that was meant to blow her open before sending an orb of light at him.

Zeref dodged and she threw her arms up in defense against the barrage of hits and kicks that Zeref threw out at random. She wondered what had gotten him so worked up all of a sudden. "Don't, touch me!" he hissed and gathered death in his hand.

She knew she wouldn't have time to dodge this one, so she held her hands up. "Angel's shield of holy light!" Mavis cried throwing her arms up.

"Dagger of death." Zeref growled. Mavis watched, horrified as the dagger split right through her shield and buried itself in her abdomen. Mavis felt incredible pain shoot through her entire body.

Mavis screamed, unable to keep it in. "Perhaps I should tell you the dagger of death's properties. It can cut through any shield, suit of armor, or magical energy. And it slowly kills everything it touches. I'm sorry but, your only hope was to dodge it." Zeref said, straightening himself. "Looks like I win."

Mavis smirked, and the dagger shattered. "What…" Zeref stared wide-eyed at where his dagger of death lay shattered into a million pieces.

"You seem to forget who I am, demon lord." Mavis said, slowly picking herself up off the floor. "I'm Mavis Vermillion, empress of angels, and no mere dagger of death is going to stop me. I must admit, it's a rare spell. But so is angel's light."

"The spell that heals all wounds." Zeref stated reproachfully. Mavis tilted her head innocently.

"Don't feel bad, honey. You had a good go." She said, smirking. "And your attempts to kill me were… oh, how to say it… cute, however I do believe that you have clearly underestimated me. And it will be the last mistake you ever made."

Zeref's red eyes sharpened at her statements. He licked his lips in anticipation. "I haven't had this much fun since… well, actually I've never had this much fun."

"I didn't think you'd want to go all out with me, demon lord. Perhaps we should take it outside." She gestured to the smashed wall. Zeref smirked.

"Gladly." He whispered, punching her gut. Mavis flew out of the chamber and her wings spread to reveal feathers as soft as a dove and as beautiful as winter snow.

Zeref spread his own, bat-like wings and took to the sky, after Mavis. Both of them meant business now. Just the raw magical power of the two was making some faint. "Ladies first." Zeref said, smirking.

"Aw, what a gentleman." Mavis said sarcastically.

"Hey, my mother taught me to always let a lady go first."

"Did they also tell you it was okay to hit one?" Mavis asked, crossing her arms.

"Nope." Zeref smirked. "But my father did teach me survival of the fittest." Zeref waited as Mavis glared at him like he was some bug that had crawled out of the sewers.

"Fine then. Let's see how _fit_ you really are." Mavis held out her right hand, golden aura radiating from her in waves.

"Ooo, you know I like them feisty." Zeref teased her with that smirk of his. It was funny how contradicting he was, his tone lilting but his eyes filled with hatred.

"What? Is that how you like your women, playboy?"

"No, it's how I like my dinner."

"You disgust me." Mavis seethed. Zeref rolled his eyes.

"So, you going to do something or…" Zeref shrugged. Mavis smirked playfully.

"Oh, I'm going to do something alright." Mavis told him as a large golden spear flung itself into her hand, golden light radiating from it. Zeref blinked at the huge thing.

"Oh sh-." Zeref was cut off by golden light shooting out of the tip, straight at his heart.

"Die, you worthless demon." Mavis said, "Know that you are nothing when in comparison to the holy light of heaven. Now… Angel… Heart!" Mavis cried.

Zeref watched as the golden light neared him. Mavis too, watched, long golden hair swaying in the wind. "Well, I guess it's time for me to pull out the big guns." Zeref said, taking out a small black dagger. "He can't be serious." Mavis thought to herself shaking her head. He was only making a pathetic attempt to save his life.

The golden light hit, engulfing Zeref's form. Behind him, part of the west chamber was sliced in half and fell, crumbling to the ground. "Well, that was honestly a little easier than I thought." But then there was a backlash. Mavis cried out as a strong gust of wind came at her.

"How do you like that?" Zeref asked, smirking from behind the smoke. He had a few cuts and bruises, but that was it. "No." Mavis thought horrified. "It can't be, this has to be some kind of mistake." Mavis whispered.

"How… how did you." Mavis trailed off, as Zeref wasn't staring at her face anymore. "What?" Mavis growled at him.

"Um…" Zeref started, his face red. "Do you, feel a breeze?"

"A what!" Mavis screamed at him. Zeref pointed at her. Mavis confused slowly looked down and screeched. Her skirt had blown upwards from the huge wind attack and while they were so high up there was a strong breeze… "Gah, look away you stupid idiot!" Mavis shrieked, trying to push her dress back down. "Ah, stupid dress, this is why people never fight and dresses! Ah, how embarrassing." Mavis glanced down to find him stills staring at her. "Arg, I said look… AWAY!" she screeched and sent another white beam at him from her large spear.

When the dust cleared Zeref coughed, covered in soot and slowly turned around while Mavis tried to push her dress down. "Ugh, it won't stay down!" Mavis groaned. The second she lifted her hands it would just fly back up. There was no way she could fight like this! "Um…" she slowly looked at Zeref. "Could we like… postpone this?" Mavis asked embarrassedly.

"The mood's ruined anyway." Zeref commented dryly and disappeared from the area. Mavis groaned again as she pushed her stupid dress down, slowly flying back into what was left of the east wing. "From now on, I'm wearing pants…" Mavis grumbled. She didn't even care if it didn't look as regal or dignified as all the dignity she had left had just left her up in the sky when the demon lord saw her panties.

"Princess, great news!" Yuri cried, running up to her. "The demon lord and his troops are leaving! That's the good news! The bad news is that Natsu escaped, but hey, chin up, it's not that bad. There weren't too many casualties and we're alive, so I'd consider that a win!" Mavis didn't look as happy as Yuri had suspected she would. "Is something wrong, princess?"

"He… he…" Yuri frowned, assessing her.

"He didn't hurt you, did he? Oh, if that… that monster laid a hand on you I'll kill him!" Yuri growled, looking ready to kill anyone who walked in that door right now.

"He… he…" Mavis seemed to have lost her voice, which never happened to his princess before. Now Yuri was starting to get really concerned. What if she was hurt, maybe he should take her straight to the infirmary."

"What, what is it, my princess. Are you sick, wounded, are you just not feeling well, tell me what's wrong!" Yuri said worriedly. Mavis looked at him, looking like a child who had gotten laughed at by her classmates.

Mavis was about ready to burst into tears and her voice trembled as she said, "He… he… he saw my panties!" she wailed. Yuri blinked at her.

"… Huh?"

* * *

 **A/N Okay... so, I don't really have anything to say except that I'm sorry for any errors, If you find any you can tell me. I hate stupid mistakes. Thank you everyone who has read this, you simply looking at this piece of work is really appreciated, so thank you. If you find any plot holes that are daunting you can tell me that too. I make up the story as I go along so that makes plot twists really hard sometimes. Because when it finally happens it makes sense to me, but I forget that you can't see inside my head, so I have to explain my thoughts to you. So if you see anything please tell me. As always thanks for reading and reviews and constructive criticism is always welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3

Zeref was running down the white hallways of angel kingdom. The attack they launched was done for two reasons. The first reason was because of what Anna had told him. He had come to destroy the empress and whatever other part of her kingdom he could. The second, was very obviously to rescue his little brother. However, he might've bitten off more than he could chew, coming to this kingdom without any plan, nor any layout of the castle.

So, Zeref didn't know where he was going unfortunately, and he was fated to be lost until he found some gullible noble. Zeref squeezed himself into a corner, watching as soldiers ran back and forth down the hall. Technically he could kill a bunch soldiers and then take one hostage, but it would be much easier if someone came alone. Zeref almost got his wish when two children with fancy garb walked down the hall next to his hiding place. Zeref unhitched himself from his corner and straightened himself up to his full height. He watched the pair of children freeze with these looks of dread on their faces, much like Mavis had when he had stood so close to her. "Hey." He growled in a low voice. He saw the boy slowly turn around, hazel eyes wide. "Show me to the prisons!"

"Like we'd tell you!" the girl snarled. Zeref titled his head, staring at her. He remembered her.

"Hey, you're that Erza, aren't you?" her brown eyes sharpened.

"Yeah, what's it to you, demon!" she spat. Zeref looked at her with amused eyes.

"I'll tell you what, show me to the dungeons." Zeref, quick as lightening, jutted one arm out, wrapping it around her male companions waist while simultaneously grabbing a dagger on his belt, pulled it out, and rested it on the boy's neck. "And I won't kill your friend." The girl blinked her face obviously conflicted.

"But… but that's treason." She said, eyes worried.

"Would you rather commit treason or let a friend that you know you could've saved be murdered?" Zeref knew which sound more appealing. Erza and her friend exchanged a look.

"Forget about me, Erza." The boy said. "I don't want you to get in trouble!" Zeref yawned. Something so insignificant in the grand scheme of things should not be so heavily debated over.

"No, Jellal, you're my best friend!" Erza cried. She stared at him for a few more moments before looking up at Zeref.

"Fine." she said, her eyes hard. "Follow me."

"Erza, no, you can't!"

"Oh, but she is." Zeref said with a smirk and followed her through the halls of the castle. Erza looked down at her feet as she walked, guiding him through the castle. She looked ashamed that she was so powerless when he exploited her weakness. Zeref found that Anna was absolutely right. How close angels held their comrades was a flaw and when he threatened the well being of one, they bent over backwards to give him what he desired.

"Here." Erza said quietly after they'd walked down several hallways and gone down so many floors that if he was simply another angel, he would've already lost count of how many they had gone down. Fortunately, he was a demon, and not just any, the demon king. He lived in a constant maze where one wrong turn could get him lost in the tunnels forever. So, Zeref had to have exceptional intellect and memory to live in such a place. Compared to that, this was child's play.

"Well, keep moving." Zeref said. Erza gulped and pushed the large, golden door open. "Now, walk." Zeref said, pushing her along. Erza led him down several hallways to the last row of cells. Zeref followed her down to the very last cell in the prison to find a pink-haired boy, sitting in a cell with his hands in his lap, looking bored. "Natsu!" Zeref hissed. The boy perked up at hearing his name and after staring at Zeref for a few seconds, jumped up and ran to him.

"Nii-chan!" Natsu cried, grabbing the bars. "I told them you'd come for me!"

"Well that was rather stupid now, wasn't it?"

"Oh, I love you too, nii-chan." Zeref froze before glaring at Natsu.

"I told you to never say that word!" Zeref snarled. Natsu took a step back, looking frightened.

"S-sorry." He knew never to cross his brother, as it would never end well for him. Zeref sighed and ignored Natsu.

"The keys." He told to Erza. The young girl shook her head.

"I-I can't, I don't have them." She told him miserably, glancing at Jellal. Zeref rolled his eyes.

"Well, I need the keys!" He growled. Zeref watched as Natsu slowly started backing up before he started running at the cell door head bent low, charging like a bull.

"We are the key!" Natsu gave a warrior cry and before Zeref could stop him, he smashed right into the iron door and fell down on his backside with a huge red bump already swelling on his forehead.

"… Ouch." Natsu grumbled, touching his forehead.

"You freaking idiot!" Zeref hissed and bent bars of the cell door. Natsu pouted and groaned on the floor, rubbing the bump on his head.

"Now then, come on, let's go." Zeref said. Natsu started to get up when he froze and sniffed the air.

"Something's coming." Natsu said. Zeref frowned.

"What? Something dangerous?"

Natsu shook his head and kept sniffing. "No, it's…"

Then Zeref heard it. The pounding of shoes down the hallway. "Hello? Natsu?" Zeref heard a voice echoing throughout the cells, thought about it for a second more and then let his shoulders relax. He recognized the voice and that made his anger levels spike for a half second.

Gray turned the corner and paused when he saw Zeref. "Oh… you're here." Gray said. Before Zeref could react Erza grabbed Gray, one hand on his forehead, the other arm around his throat.

"Let Jellal go, or else I'll kill him by breaking his neck!" Erza growled. Zeref knew she could very easily do just that. Gray struggled in her grip.

"L-let go!" Gray knew he had to save himself, because the demon lord would never help him. Zeref's red eyes were focused on Erza's sharp brown ones, unsure of what he wanted to do. He knew he could probably kill her and take what belonged to him, however, that was rather messy and unnecessary.

"Fine, we'll let them both go at the same time." Zeref said. Erza shook her head.

"Oh no, you let him go first!" Zeref considered it and then sighed.

"Fine." he said, but only because he didn't have time to argue with stupid children. He heard the guards coming toward him and Natsu, so he had to get out of here. "1, 2, 3!" Zeref pushed the child out of his grip and he stumbled forward over to Erza. After a few moments she released Gray and grabbed Jellal's arms, obviously checking him for injuries. "I could kill you children for your insolence however… a blood bath is unnecessary at this time." Zeref heard the guards closing in and turned.

He grabbed the two stupid heads and threw one of them over each shoulder before taking to the sky. He simply barreled threw wall after wall until he reached the last one and daylight greeted him. "Hey! Put me down!" Natsu complained. "I can fly by myself."

"No." Zeref said roughly. Zeref knew very well that Natsu had wings but he also knew that he couldn't keep up with the speed Zeref was going. As soon as he reached a suitable distance away from the castle he dived.

"Sire, what are you doing?" Invel asked. Before storming the castle, they had established a telepathic connection, so they could speak to each other with ease.

"Retreat. There's no need to stay. We'll finish what we started, later." Invel was silent on the other end, obviously not understanding his logic.

"But… my lord…" Invel said quietly.

"I said, RETREAT!" Zeref snarled, so furious that he even said it aloud. There was silence for a few more seconds before a reply.

"Yes, my lord." Invel said quietly before ending the call. Zeref, frustrated that he'd had to repeat himself, drew closer to hell, gliding through several levels of the universe down the very bottom.

Finally, after flying over the villages, where people had been pointing at him, he reached the castle. By that time, it was already very dark outside, almost pitch black. The moment he stepped at the foot of his black castle he dropped both boys unceremoniously onto the floor. "What was that?" he hissed, glaring at the two of them. He pointed to Natsu. "How could you let yourself be captured like that? I've been waiting for six months for you to escape and fly home! The first month I simply thought you were amusing yourself, but then another month passed, and then another! And I had to come and RESCUE you, of all things." Zeref grabbed the boy's shoulders and squeezed very tightly. "You are the DEMON PRINCE! Demon princes do not need rescuing from angels of all beings!" Zeref screamed, shaking him. "You… you made me…"

"Worried?" Natsu tried.

"Furious!" Zeref screamed. Natsu flinched and gave a nervous chuckle.

"Look… nii-chan, I'm sorry, okay?"

"That's another thing. This… this nii-chan stuff has got to stop, Natsu. I'm an emperor and it's degrading when you call me things like that in front of… well, anybody! So, from now on you are either going to call me, lord Zeref and if I'm in a good mood onii-san, alright?"

"Well, alright nii-chan." Zeref glared at him. "… Oops." Zeref sighed and gently brushed some pink hair out of his brother's face.

"If you ever do that again I'm going cut out your organs and feed them to Anna, you got that!" Natsu giggled, knowing that's exactly what his brother would do, and yeah, it would hurt, but it'd be worth it to watch Anna eat his intestines.

"Alright." Zeref seemed to calm at that because he patted Natsu's head.

"Good boy. And as for you!" he whirled on Gray who'd previously been trying to crawl away. Zeref walked up to him and grabbed his wrist, dragging him to his feet. "Why were you there in the first place! I told you and everyone not in my squadron to stay in the palace and not to leave until I returned! You…" Zeref's eyes narrowed at the boy who was currently looking at his feet. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you!" Zeref screamed. Gray's eyes flicked up to his. They were filled with terror and glazed over with tears. Zeref sighed and his next words were not quite so sharp. "Things could've ended terribly for you, and if I hadn't been there, Natsu wouldn't have been able to protect the both of you! Both of you could've died! Is that what you want?" Gray was silent. "Is it!" Zeref cried.

"No!" Gray shouted, tears streaming down his face. Zeref straightened up his eyes still filled with anger, but not as much as before.

"I didn't think so." Zeref said and sighed. He grabbed Natsu and pulled him into his chest. "I… I don't hate you." Zeref told him. He didn't have to tell him directly. Natsu knew exactly what he meant, knew that Zeref couldn't say it. Natsu didn't know why he wasn't capable, plenty of other demons were. But for some reason not even Natsu knew, Zeref couldn't say love. He just couldn't. But he didn't have to, because Natsu knew. "And you." He told Gray, pulling him into the hug as well. "I'm the only one that gets to kill you." He half expected Gray to push away and try to punch him, the other half thought he might bear it. What he didn't expect was for Gray to latch on to him like a life line. Zeref didn't exactly mind, he was just surprised. .

So, Zeref waited until Natsu stopped hugging him and Gray stopped shaking before guiding them inside. "Come on, it's been an… eventful day, so we should all probably get some rest." Zeref said. "So, you, go to your room." Zeref told Gray, pointing.

"My room's the other way." Gray said his voice sounding like someone who'd just been sobbing. Zeref sneered,

"Don't get smart with me!"

"Whatever." Gray grumbled, marching off.

"I have got to get more respect from that kid." Zeref said with a sigh. He unfortunately had no idea how to do that. His generals and citizens respected him because of his status, his blood, and his power. Nothing else mattered to them. However, gaining the respect of a human child was obviously more complicated.

"Maybe he'd respect you if you cut off one of his limbs while he was sleeping." Natsu suggested. Zeref gave him a doubtful look and rolled his eyes.

"Come on." He said and followed Natsu to his room. "Now get into bed young man and I do not want to see you again until the morning-and stop that! I know you're making faces right now… stop making them!" Then Natsu turned around and rolled his eyes before flopping into bed. Zeref sighed and turned off the light. "Goodnight, Natsu." Zeref said.

"Night." Natsu whispered.

"Adolescents," Zeref grumbled, unamused as he closed the door. Then he started walking to the library to meet Anna about what to do next when he saw a tiny child running between halls.

"Gray! I told you to go to your room!" Gray popped his head out from behind the wall and shrugged.

"You said to go to my room, not to stay there." Gray told him. Zeref stared at him blankly.

"I should've left you to die."

"But you didn't!" Gray said cheekily, all teases and smiles again. Well, at least his yelling hadn't caused any permanent fear. Although, if Gray didn't fear him yet, then he never would. None the less Zeref felt more rage start creeping up within him.

"Well then I'll tell you now. Go to your room and go to sleep. I will padlock you in if I have to." Zeref told him. "Oh, and I might… "accidently" forget about you in there."

"Fine, whatever." Gray grumbled. "Although… would you really do that?"

"Do what?" Zeref asked.

"Starve me to death?" Zeref blinked, unsure how to answer. Was this a trick question?

"How do you want me to answer?" Zeref asked carefully. Gray crossed his arms glaring.

"I'm not telling you that! I want to know if you really would.

"… No, I wouldn't. I don't like you, I don't hate you either. And if I had to, I would kill you without a second's hesitation. But if I did have to kill you, I wouldn't let you suffer." Zeref said after only a moments hesitation. Gray blinked unsure if he should be happy or not. "And just to give you a hint on what that means I would torture everyone to death in this here castle except for you, Natsu, and Porlyusica." Zeref told him.

"So… I'm pretty high on your list of people you can stand." Zeref scowled.

"Don't get the wrong idea kid, I despise you." Zeref told him.

"I know." Gray said. "Because I despise you too. Where were you headed anyway?"

"… Oh, I was off to see Anna." Zeref said with a sigh.

"Oh…" Gray said quietly. Everything was silent and Zeref could feel that Gray had an unasked question on the tip of his tongue.

"What is it?" Zeref asked, staring at Gray. Gray didn't speak for a moment but then he took a deep breath and asked,

"Did you… before you found me, did you… know my parents?" Gray asked. Zeref was silent remembering the screams and the blood, soaking him. His unmerciful eyes destroying the humans that dare to defy him. And the cries of an infant in the background. See, Gray had worked as a slave for him since he turned five, however, he'd had him since he was a baby. Porlyusica had taken care of him then, as he had been too busy, taking care of an eighth-month-old baby Natsu. His parents had just left him with the kingdom only a month before he'd found Gray… before he'd killed Gray's parents.

Zeref knew that he couldn't tell Gray the truth, so he smiled sadly and ruffled his hair. "No, Gray, I told you. I found you on the streets and decided that I was feeling nice… heh, stupidest thing I ever did."

"Hey!" Gray cried. "It was the smartest thing you ever did! If you hadn't then Anna would've died of hunger!" Zeref rolled his eyes.

"No, she wouldn't have. If I'd had to, I would've sent one of my generals to stuff some food down her throat. You weren't needed for that."

"Well… the west wing wouldn't be so clean then…" Gray grumbled. Zeref shrugged as he didn't really care and patted Gray on the head.

"That's cute, you actually think you're useful." Zeref said, laughing slightly. "Now, I told you to go to bed, you're usually asleep by now and if you don't go to sleep, you're going to be slacking on your chores tomorrow and we can't have that. You know that useless things get killed."

"I'm not useless!" Zeref chuckled darkly.

"Think of it this way, sweetheart… you know that in a slaughter house, animals are killed, don't you?" Gray slowly nodded. "Well, did you also know that the ones killed first are the noisiest and most defiant?" Gray shook his head. "Well, it's true, so go to bed before I decide to take you to the slaughter house, m'kay?" Gray nodded. "M'kay." Zeref said and flicked his forehead. "Then go!" Gray stood there for a few more seconds before turning around and running off. Zeref sighed, he was a demon lord, not a babysitter!

Then Zeref turned, ready to go talk to Anna, and discuss their next plan of strategy. Maybe it would've been a good plan if… things hadn't happened. Zeref blushed when he thought about that. How embarrassing. Before Zeref could make his way to the west wing however, a guard came running down the hall and almost ran into him.

"Hey, watch it." Zeref growled, scowling.

"My lord, I'm sorry, but we have a situation!"

"Oh, I see, are the Spriggan twelve back?" Zeref asked. The guard nodded, seeming to dismiss it as unimportant.

"Yes, yes but that's not the situation?"

"Well, you idiot, don't tell me what' the situation isn't, that doesn't do anyone any good, tell me what the situation is!"

"Right, y-yes of course." The guard said, his expression somewhat panicked. "Well, you see-."

"Spit it out!" Zeref screamed his eyes flashing with rage. The guard froze obviously terrified.

"It's… it's the communication lacrima."

"What, is it broken?" Zeref asked sarcastically. Then Zeref thought of something that made him shiver uncomfortably "Is… is it the angel empress wishing to speak to me?" The guard shook his head again. "Then. What. Is it!" Zeref screamed.

The guards lips trembled, and his next words made Zeref's very blood freeze in his veins, leaving him trembling, filled with awful memories and flashes.

"It's your father."

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 **A/N Here you are with chapter 3! I hope you like it and if you find any mistakes tell me about them! It is appreciated! I think I'll be updating this story either next Saturday or Sunday, so keep a lookout. Again, thanks for reading and everyone who has read and supported this story, it really means a lot to me. And favorites, follows, and reviews, and constructive criticism are all welcome! Thank you everybody and I'll see you next Saturday or Sunday. But, I'll be updating Dragneel Brothers on Thursday so don't miss out on that! Bye! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you everyone who has followed, favorited, and read this story, your support is very much appreciated! And special thanks to melissal58 for being my first reviewer! :)**

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"My father… is here?" Zeref said his throat constricting to the point where he could barely breathe.

"Well no, he called on the communication lacrima." Zeref took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

"W-what does he want?" Zeref whispered, not even caring that this guard was seeing him terror-stricken to the point where at any moment Zeref felt he was going to pass out.

"He… he wants to speak with you, my lord." The guard told him quietly. Zeref shook his head, the world was spinning rapidly and Zeref couldn't focus.

"No." Was the only thing he was able to get out, shaking his head over and over. "No, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO **NO!** " Zeref screamed clutching at his head. He couldn't breathe, his limbs were useless.

"I… I'll go get Porlyusica my lord." The guard said, slowly backing up. "J-just s-stay. Just stay there my lord." He backed up more before turning and running in the other direction.

So, this was what it felt like to die of terror. The choking hands the fear, the pain. Again, and again it struck him, the pain all over his body unbearable. Zeref screamed.

"No, no, no! Go away!" Hands, all over him, grabbing hitting, hurting him, grabbing his legs and arms. Endless cycle of trauma playing over again and again in his mind. "NO!" the only word that he could say, the only word that he needed to say.

Only one word. "LET ME GO!"

His name repeated, filled with anger, and hatred, and need to kill and hurt him. Zeref, however, didn't want to be hurt. "Zeref, Zeref." Over and over, trapped, his wrists hurt, and he couldn't move, couldn't defend himself. He was powerless against it. He couldn't do it, couldn't move, couldn't take it. The pain, and humiliation. He wanted to die, anything would be easier than living through this torment.

"Zeref!"

Zeref screamed, his eyes bolting open. He panted, finally out. He found that nothing hurt, his wrists weren't bound, and no one was hurting him. Not anymore. "What is it, what's wrong?" Porlyusica asked, dragging him to the infirmary. "Come on, I need to check your vitals." Zeref didn't even try to struggle or insist that he wasn't hurt. He felt his shirt removed, vaguely aware that he was having a checkup like some ordinary human. "Take deep breaths for me." Zeref, wide-eyed, did as he was told, the first sign to Porlyusica that everything was not alright.

After she was done making sure that their king wasn't dying she felt herself relax a little. "It was an attack, wasn't it?" Zeref slowly nodded.

"Yes…" he whispered. Porlyusica frowned.

"But, you haven't had one in so long. I thought you were all better. Tell me, what triggered it, now?" Zeref blinked and gulped, his hands shaking like a leaf.

"He's back. My father… he wants to speak to me." Zeref whispered. Porlyusica stood there for a moment before her eyes sharpened.

"No, you will NOT speak to him." Porlyusica said. She turned to the guard. "Tell the devil that called that his majesty is a VERY busy man and cannot simply drop everything to have a conversation with one, sick, monster!" Porlyusica told the guard.

"But he really didn't look like he was going to take no for an answer." The guard said nervously.

"GO! OUT OF MY OFFICE, I HATE HUMANS!" Porlyusica growled and shoved him out.

"But I'm not-."

Porlyusica slammed the door in his face. "AND DON'T COME BACK!

"But I'm just the messenger!... Hello?" Porlyusica didn't answer him and turned back to the demon lord with worry in her gaze.

"My lord… Zeref, don't think about it." Porlyusica said, smoothing his hair back. "Just go to sleep. Everything will be better in the morning." Zeref turned to her, eyes empty and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll do that." He said, hopping off the bed. "Thanks." He said, almost absentmindedly and walked out of the infirmary. The guard was still there, looking terrified about having to speak with the former demon lord. "I'll talk to him." The guard's shoulders instantly relaxed.

"Really sire?"

"Yes, it's time I… face my own demons." So, Zeref walked to his throne room, dreading the moment he'd have to accept his father's call, for the first time, thinking he really was in hell.

The large blue crystal floated in the middle of the room, mocking him. Zeref gulped and reached toward the ball illuminating the room with an eerie glow.

There, on the crystal, were two buttons. One red, the other green. One meant to accept, the other decline. Zeref's hands trembled but he had too. It was just his father. Zeref was strong now. He could beat him, he could do this. The buttons taunted him, telling him that he was weak, that he would break, that he was worthless. The voices drove him insane and he couldn't escape their hold, so all he could do was bear it.

The moment he hit the green button the glow doubled and there, in the center of the room, was now a very real hologram of his father. Zeref felt his heart stop and at that moment, would give anything for this to be the angel empress, come to… say anything to him! He'd rather his worst enemy be standing across from him, rather than his father, who stood several feet taller than him. "Zeref." His booming voice filled the room, making Zeref want to die. He hated it, because he would do anything for his father. But it wasn't out of respect, nor loyalty, but out of terror. "My, my, my, how you've grown. It's been almost ten years now, hasn't it? I haven't talked to you in a very long time."

"H-how are you f-father?" the stutter, it made him so angry, but his fear crippled him, and he was unable to move. Barely able to speak.

"You haven't won!" his father growled. Zeref knew he must be as pale as a ghost and he felt light-headed, like he was going to faint.

"I- sorry, father. T-things are going to work out."

"They'd better, I want three kingdoms, maybe four, when I return. I'm going to come home to take over the world."

"When you… return… home? You're coming home?" Zeref asked, dreading the answer. His father smirked.

"Well of course my boy! You didn't think I would return? Aren't you grateful?" Zeref wanted to sneer and ask, "For what?" but he didn't because he was too terrified.

"N-no, father, I mean, I'm incredibly grateful! I… I would do anything for you!" his father smirked.

"That's the spirit, Zeref." His father said. "Now, how come you haven't destroyed the angel kingdom, yet?"

"Well… we just haven't gone full out yet, we wanted to-." Acnologia didn't let him finish as he said quickly, warningly,

"I'm telling you now, boy, stay out of my way. I'm going to destroy the angel kingdom so just back off! Then, I'll come home and reclaim the throne." His father said. "And, I'm already king of the dragons and conquering the humans is going pretty smoothly. Thank you, son, for obtaining the throne and running the kingdom while I was gone, but once I return you can go back to… doing whatever it is you used to do." his father smirked and leaned forward so he was towering over Zeref. "I don't usually do this, but because you're my son, I'm warning you only once." His father's expression darkened, "Stay out of my way!" Zeref fell backward eyes wide and terrified. He quickly nodded.

"Y-yes sir!" Zeref cried, his father drew back, smirking again. "I knew you'd see it my way. You are my son, after all."

Zeref gave a nervous smile, "O-of course." He said.

"Good." His father said, "Goodbye." Before hitting the end call button. His image froze for half a second before it disappeared. Zeref was left panting, and terrified on the floor. He couldn't… he couldn't let his father come back. He would kill himself before he lived under the same roof as him again.

"No… no, no, no!" Zeref cried, putting his head in between his knees, sobbing. "NO!" he screamed. He couldn't take it. Couldn't! It hurt so much, and his heart felt like it was going to burst from how horrible he felt.

He was there, all night, simply sobbing because there was nothing else he could do. He couldn't do it. He couldn't see his father in person again, never again. He remembered how he had felt the strangling fear, and that was just calling him. In person, Zeref would be a mess of bending over backwards to obey his father's every little demand. As he sat there, his head in between his knees someone else called him that night. Zeref looked up, wondering who was calling him now. He didn't know, the caller id was anonymous. Zeref hesitantly hit the accept button and before he could stop the call the angel empress had already appeared. Great, his two most hated people calling him in the same day. At least it was rage instead of fear that started to creep up within him. Zeref let out a tiny sigh and glared.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"I simply wish to speak with you. And no, not necessarily about today's… incident." Zeref frowned and wondered if he should warn her. He hated her… but he hated his father even more. And Zeref couldn't defy him directly, he'd never be able to do that… so maybe… "Hey, have you been… crying?" the angel empress asked suspiciously. Zeref froze and viciously wiped at his eyes.

"N-no, that's just… just dust in my eye, making me tear up! I am not crying!" Zeref growled. Demon lords did not cry from fear, they destroyed their enemies in an unfocused rage. The empress looked doubtful.

"Right… sure, yeah, okay. I totally buy that lame excuse. What's wrong?" Mavis asked. She didn't look concerned per say, just… curious.

"Nothing's wrong! I just… family issues, okay? None of your business!" Zeref growled and crossed his arms.

"Right…" Mavis said, looking unconvinced. "Alright, so the reason I called you is because we have to talk."

"Yeah, I got that part." Zeref said sarcastically. She sneered and sighed.

"Anyway, it's about the war. Please just sign the peace treaty!" Zeref growled. He couldn't do that now, even if he wanted to.

"No, I can't!"

"Why not?" she asked, exasperated.

"Because no!" He screamed and hit the end call button. He just couldn't deal with her. He didn't even care that he'd lost his cool, didn't care that it seemed childish, he just couldn't do it. Too much was happening, and yes, he wanted to warn her, but there were the eyes to think about. The eyes that were always watching him. Zeref knew that it was ridiculous, that the eyes he thought about didn't exist, but they were very real to him. He felt his father watching him all the time. He was in there for several more hours before he heard a knock on the door. Zeref flinched, jumped up from his position, and screamed.

The door flew open at that and Invel walked in, looking concerned. "Is everything alright your majesty?" Invel asked. Zeref shook, his heart pounding.

"D-don't do that." Zeref said, out of breath a shaky smile making it's way across his face. Invel still only frowned.

"Your majesty, I heard your king Acnologia called. Is everything alright?"

"No… no, nothing's alright, and you can stop calling me, "your majesty," and, "the demon lord." Zeref said. "Not now that my father's coming back to obtain his "rightful place" as the lord of all demons." Zeref shrugged his eyes watering. "Please, I'm heading to my room. Give access to absolutely no one, not even Porlyusica or Natsu, alright?" Invel slowly nodded.

"If that's what you desire… your highness." Invel said quietly. Zeref nodded, his eyes red from sobbing.

"Yes, that is exactly what I desire." So, Zeref got up and went to his bedroom, still horrified. He couldn't believe what was happening. Yesterday, where he'd been storming castles and recuing Natsu, and taking on the angel empress… those all seemed like distant memories now. Zeref knew he was extremely powerful, but he also knew where he was outmatched. He would never be stronger than his father. Heck, he wasn't even sure if he and the angel empress combined were enough to take him down, but if they were… Zeref felt an idea start formulating within his mind. And yes, it would be extremely degrading, however, it would also be 100 times better than living with terror dictating his actions forevermore.

Yes, he knew it would probably require bribing, and pain, and begging, but he was prepared to do that. It would be better. He would rather get on his knees and beg the angel empress to help him destroy his father, rather than look at him one more time.

And Zeref knew that he wouldn't be able to face him. He knew he would have to be behind the front lines, simply giving orders. He knew he would look like a coward, but he just couldn't face his father or stand up to him in any form. Zeref had done that once, and he'd paid dearly for it.

Zeref yanked himself out of the memory before he could have an attack again and flipped over, closing his eyes and trying to go to sleep.

In the end, he couldn't go to sleep, but he had closed his eyes for several hours. When he got bored and decided that he had composed himself enough he got up and flipped he light switch. Opening the door, Invel was standing guard, presumably turning anyone who dare come this close to his chambers away. Zeref cleared his throat watching Invel jump before turning to him. "My lord, how can I be of service?" he asked. Zeref sighed and asked,

"Invel… what pray tell, do people wear when they plan on begging someone for their help?" Invel stared at him for a long moment before bursting into laughter.

"I'm sorry, you must be joking." Invel said, still chuckling. Zeref's expression didn't change and after a minute Invel stopped laughing, realizing he was serious. "You're going to… ask for help?" Zeref, asking for help, was unheard of. "Begging, for help?" Invel asked. "Just who are you asking?" Zeref gulped and clenched his fists.

"I'm begging the angel empress for help…" Zeref said gravely. Invel blinked and gulped.

"W-why? For what?"

"For defeating my father. I can't…" Zeref glanced up at Invel. "You know I can't see him ever again. I'd rather die before listening to his voice again!" Zeref grabbed Invel's shirt and started shaking him. "I'd rather BEG my worst enemy for help rather than face him again, because I just can't do it! I can never bend to his every command again!" Zeref sobbed. "I can't!"

"I know, my lord. To be honest, I never want to serve under him again." Invel said. "I'm loyal to you, your majesty and I would die for you." Zeref stopped shaking and slowly pulled back.

"I know… so, help me beg the angel empress to help defeat my father." Zeref said. Invel nodded and walked inside his room.

"Well, to beg someone for help you must look… decent, but not like you're trying to show off wealth or money or… status." Invel said, already sifting through his closet. "What you're aiming for, is what will persuade the other person and it will be different for every person. For the angel empress you might want to wear something… not red or black and get rid of those red eyes." Invel said. Zeref nodded and straightened himself. Invel nodded. "Yes, look confident, but humble, and tell her exactly what you want, but be charming. Did you get all of that?" Zeref hadn't but he nodded anyway.

"I think so." He told Invel and gave a small sigh. Zeref stripped off his clothes quickly, and Invel helped, neither boy really caring about something as mortal as modesty. They were both guys, both friends since they were children, and neither was really ashamed. Zeref, not to be arrogant but he knew he was rather good looking and had no qualms over being naked. The only reason he might not have stripped was because of the deep scares everywhere on his body. But the ones all over his body, he didn't care about. Those were battle scars and Zeref was rather proud of them. It was the ones running down his back that might've caused him to shoo someone away while getting undressed. But Invel had already seen them many times before, he knew where Zeref had gotten them, and he knew why Zeref hated them.

He dressed in the only white clothes he had and only buttoned up seven out of ten buttons, so pale skin peeked out. "So…" Zeref said quietly. "This outfit will make her accept my offer." Invel shrugged making Zeref glare. His palms were getting sweaty and he really didn't want to call her. Not even a little bit.

What he really wanted to do was dive back under the covers and never come out again. That sounded much more appealing then getting on his hands and knees to beg and bribe the empress into helping him overcome his fears of all things! That might not be exactly what he was asking her to do, but to Zeref it was close enough to it to warrant feelings of embarrassment. "Oh, and don't be afraid to offer her a kiss if she helps." Zeref gave Invel annoyed look.

"Come on, let's go." Zeref said, looking at himself concernedly in the mirror before walking out of his bedroom toward the dreaded throne room. If Mavis rejected his offer Zeref didn't know what he was going to do. Kill himself? Because he could never face his father again. Not after what had happened.

So, Zeref walked bravely into the throne room and hit the call button. He almost hoped she wouldn't pick up because this was the second most degrading thing that had ever happened to him. The first… he didn't want to talk about the first as that would raise unwanted memories that he couldn't afford right then.

It took three rings for Mavis to pick up. Zeref cursed and sighed quietly. Mavis raised an eyebrow on the other end of the communication lacrima. "Well, it's not every day I get a call from the demon lord. What, pray tell, have I done to receive this… honor." Mavis said the last word as if it tasted bad.

Zeref took a deep breath and sighed. "Look, I know I was rude and hung up on you last night and…" Zeref glanced at Invel who nodded. "And I'm sorry, but I was just having a really bad night last night so… yeah, that's not what I'm calling you about."

Mavis tilted her head. "Then what ARE you calling about?"

"Listen, I know that we're not on the best terms right now." Zeref said.

"That's an understatement."

"But I would really appreciate it if you would help me defeat this enemy of mine." Mavis's eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm not rejecting or anything, it's just… why would I help you?" Mavis asked.

"Because, well, he's about to be your enemy too. He wants to destroy heaven and hell. He's known as the dragon king, I'm sure you've heard of him." Mavis nodded gravely. "And he also, just so happens to be my father." Zeref said with a sigh.

"Is this the, "family issue" you were telling me about?" Zeref clenched his fists and sighed.

"Yes." Mavis looked genuinely curious.

"So, you are willing to kill your father? Do you demons not hold any emotional attachment to your family?" Zeref wanted to snarl and tell her to shut up but he took a deep breath and tried to control his anger.

"Don't talk as if you know our relationship. Yes, we are blood, but we are not family. You have no idea what he's done to me." Mavis blinked.

"I suppose I don't. Now then, what's in this for me?" She asked. "It's not as if I'll help you defeat this enemy of yours without something in return." Zeref gulped. This was the part where he got on his knees and begged.

"I'll do whatever you want." Zeref said, bowing to her. "Anything." He said quietly. For three minutes there was an unbearable silence where Zeref felt so awkward and vulnerable. What if, even after all this, she still said no?

"Alright." Mavis said after those three minutes. "I shall help you, however you must remember your promise and after this battle is won you shall do anything I ask. Your life is in my hands, do you understand?"

Zeref nodded rapidly, not in any mood to argue or bargain, but just incredibly happy that he had a fighting chance now. "Yes… yes, yes, thank you!" Zeref cried, so incredibly happy and relieved. Mavis smiled a tiny smile and nodded.

"You're very welcome demon lord." She said kindly before ending the call. The moment the call was over Zeref slumped to the floor, unbelievably exhausted.

"My lord… you did it! I can't believe it! We have the help of the angel empress! We… we have a fighting chance." Zeref nodded, wide-eyed and cried from relief.

"High five!" Zeref cried raising his hand. Invel raised an eyebrow.

"What is a… high five?"

"Oh, Gray taught it to me. You do it when something monumental transpires!"

"Those were his words?"

"No, his words were, when something awesome happens but… I don't say "awesome" or "happens" like some sort of common human." Invel didn't even bother to tell Zeref that he was being hypocritical. After all, if he wasn't like some common human, then why do a high five? "So, I raise my hand and you slap it with yours."

Invel slowly raised his hand and hit Zeref's with it. It made a loud clapping sound which made them both jump. "Is there always a loud noise after?" Zeref nodded gravely but didn't say anything else. He was still overjoyed that he had a fighting chance against his father. He would never have been able to fight his father on his own but now… now things just might end up in their favor.

"Well, what do we do now, your majesty?" Invel asked. Zeref gave a few more pants before turning to Invel.

"Now, we prepare for a war like we have never fought before, yes? My father is one of the strongest beings in the universe and it will require all of us to defeat him. Start training our army to defeat dragons. There's no doubt that my father will bring dragons with him in order to intimidate. Dragons are fierce creatures, not meant to be messed with. Our men must be trained to fight these evil beasts. So, gather up every demon in the kingdom, man or woman, child or adult, elderly or young, rich or poor, get them all. I don't care! Train them all and we shall have our army."

Invel nodded his eyes determined. "You believe we can win, sire?" Invel asked. Zeref looked at him.

"We have to win." Zeref told him. "If we don't then there's no point living in this world, any longer."

* * *

 **A/N So, here I am with another chapter I hoped you liked it and I'm sorry for any mistakes. If you find any feel free to tell me and I will fix it. Now, this is the chapter with the most PTSD in it there may be more, but nothing like this. Now, before I wrote this I've done a little research on PTSD. It stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's occurs sometimes when the a person is the victim of one or many traumatic events and there is no definite cure, but usually as time progresses it gets better. As far as I know it seems there are certain things that will trigger an attack. For someone who's had a traumatic experience with guns, seeing a gun might trigger it. For Zeref, I'd have to assume that what would cause him to have an attack would either be seeing his father or one of the torture devices. Now, again, I'm not an expert so if anyone has more knowledge on this feel free to give me some pointers and if it was actually realistic or not. Another thing I wouldn't object to is how and when Mavis and Zeref start to fall for each other. I hope I'm not making it too easy for them. I did a little research on this as well so I found out that some of the best ways is to either, one, have one of them sick or injured and in need of assistance. Two, they have common ground. Or three, they have a common goal. I suppose I did a mix of one, two, and three for this chapter. But anyway, if you have an idea of when I should start tipping the scale from hate to love I'm willing to listen to your suggestions. I also have a sort of schedule for when I'll be updating this now. It should be updated every Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, so be sure to keep a look out on those days. Thank you for reading, sorry for the long authors note, all support for this story is appreciated. Bye! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Mavis ended the call, feeling uneasy. She felt she had every right to be as well. The demon lord had just called her, begging for her help, but what really unsettled her was the enemy of the demon lord. He must've been insanely powerful for the demon lord to looks so terrified when calling her.

It was refreshing, since the only thing she had experienced from him so far had been rage. "Who was that?" Layla asked, walking over to her. Mavis sighed her eyes drooping from lack of sleep.

"That was the demon lord." Layla stared at Mavis concernedly.

"What did he want?" she asked suspiciously.

"He… he wanted our help." Layla furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Mavis laughed softly.

"That was my reaction. At least, on the inside."

"What… what did you tell him?" Layla asked. Mavis groaned and leaned back in her chair. "You gave him our help, didn't you?" Mavis turned to Layla her eyebrows raised. "Well what could I say?" Mavis asked, sounding exasperated.

"… No?" Layla tried. Mavis shook her head.

"I couldn't do that! You weren't talking to him. He sounded so… so desperate and dare I say, frightened?"

"What is it exactly that he wanted our help with?" Layla asked.

"He wanted help defeating an enemy of his. A powerful one I suppose, otherwise he wouldn't have begged for help."

"He begged?" Layla asked.

"Well, that was the only way I could describe it." Mavis said. "I mean he was on his knees bowing to me and stuff." Mavis sighed and then perked up, her energy renewed. "But hey, this could be really good for us, I mean. I've got him right where I want him, Layla. He owes me his life. He said he'd do whatever I asked." Mavis said.

"You plan on having him sign the peace treaty?"

"No. Why would I have him sign a peace treaty when I could simply destroy the demons? Those barbarians have been terrorizing angels and humans long enough." Mavis said.

"I see but… just who exactly is this enemy of his."

Mavis smirked. "Oh, you see, that's the best part. It's the dragon king. We defeat the dragon king, I've got the demon lord wrapped around my finger and who cares what the humans do? They can live in peace on earth. Once those evil beasts are gone, then angels will be the only magical beings in this universe." Mavis said. "It's a fairly simple and brilliant plan if I do say so myself." She added. Layla was frowning at her though.

"My lady… does this have to do with the fact that you believe you're bettering the universe by destroying them, or does it have to do with the fact that… a demon killed Zera."

"This has NOTHING to do with that, okay!" Mavis cried, whirling on Layla. "That was years ago, and it's not like it bothers me anymore. I mean, I'm still sad but I don't go around pointing fingers!" Mavis growled. "I _am_ bettering the universe Layla, both you and I know it. This way, no more angels have to end up like Zera, Anna, or Porlyusica, right?" Layla didn't look convinced but sighed and nodded anyway.

"Yes, you're right." Layla said.

Mavis smirked because this was going exactly the way she wanted it too. Now, all she had to do was defeat this dragon king and her plans were set in stone. Mavis knew the dragons were a powerful race, so she'd be sure not to underestimate them.

"Please ready our army. Prepare them, for we are going to be fighting dragons!" Mavis cried. Layla nodded but before she left she asked,

"Empress, when is the dragon king coming back and how will you know when to attack?"

Mavis was silent for several moments. "I… we didn't discuss that." Mavis said with a sigh. Layla rolled her eyes. "That means I have to call him again, doesn't it?" Layla nodded, and Mavis groaned, running her fingers through her hair. "I don't even know how powerful he truly is… I've never met the man." Mavis said quietly, while on the inside she was exasperated. Layla sighed and crossed her arms.

"Well… actually empress, you have. A very long time ago, right after Zera… yeah, anyway you went with lady Rita to get a formal apology out of the royal family."

Rita was the former angel empress and Mavis's mother. Mavis furrowed her eyebrows and nodded. "Do you think mom has more information on the former demon lord and his family?" Layla nodded.

"I'm sure she does."

So, Mavis left to go see her mother. Rita was in her bedroom most of the time now, as she was very ill all the time. Mavis was very worried about her health and often took days off of being the angel empress to go and check up on her mother. "Mom?" Mavis asked as she opened the golden door, leading to a grand-sized bedroom. Rita was on the bed like she always was, heaving labored breaths.

"Mavis, darling, is that you?" Rita asked.

"Yes, mom, it's me." Mavis said walking over to her. "Listen, I have a question about the demon race." Mavis said.

"Oh? What is it?"

"You've met the former demon lord on our way to get a formal apology for Zera's… death. The whole royal family was there, and I was wondering, since I don't remember, what was the former demon lord like?" Mavis asked her mother. Rita furrowed her eyebrows in concentration.

"Well… I remember that the demon lord looked very… kind, but, I could also see that it was a front. A mask, and that on the inside he was as cruel and dark as they come."

"Even more cruel than the demon lord today?"

"A hundred times crueler. I could see he took pleasure in our suffering. I remember a woman, presumably the demon queen, holding a baby in her arms… but, for some reason, I can't remember her face. Anyway, I also remember the current demon lord, he was there as well. I can't remember much detail, but I do remember, only because it made my blood freeze, the look of pure terror on his face. To this day I can't get his expression out of my head. He was clinging to her, his mother, like she was the only reason he was alive… I'm pretty sure she was."

"Could you tell why he was so frightened?"

"No, I haven't any proof of why he was terrified, however I wouldn't even need three guesses to tell you my opinion on why he was scared, and I could also tell you that I was probably right."

"What is your guess?"

"My guess is that he was terrified of his father, with good reason. To this day I still have nightmares about that man, and I have encountered him only a few times before. I can't imagine living with him every day. I'd go insane from knowing my life could be ended at any moment."

"But mom… you're so powerful." Rita nodded gravely.

"Yes, I am… however Acnologia is stronger than me. He's stronger than you, and the current demon lord, and I pray that the two of you combined will be able to stop him."

"But mom… I never said that-."

"I can read it in your face, darling. I can tell why you're here. So please, destroy him." Mavis nodded, her face grave.

"I will." She said and was about to leave when she said, "Mama, do you think I could take a look into your memories? You say you don't remember that day all to well, but by taking a look at the memories you can no longer remember, I can get far more detail than you simply trying to describe to me something you cannot remember." Rita looked thoughtful before nodding.

"Yes, look into my memories if you must. This way, you can understand why it is I'm fearful of him." Mavis nodded and slowly walked back over to her mother, placing her index fingers on her temples. Closing her eyes Mavis focused on the memory that she wanted to see and with that in mind, cast the spell. "Angel memory." She whispered, and felt the power rise up from within her.

 **Start of memory**

* * *

After a few moments she opened her eyes and found that she was no longer in the angel palace. Now, she was in hell, literally. Looking around she felt uneasy. It was different than she remembered it last, and if it was possible it felt… even more evil than it had when she'd visited only a few days ago. The palace was even blacker and there was more ash then when she had last visited. But the one thing that hadn't changed was the look of fear-based respect glistening in everyone's eyes. Even her mother's eyes were filled with barely subdued fear.

How strange. She feared the current demon king, she'd be foolish not to, but she had never felt so much fear to the point where she could not contain it. "Angel empress of heaven." Acnologia spoke in a deep voice that sent shivers up her spine. It was full of rage and hatred. Much like Zeref's was. Everything was vivid in such detail that Mavis was completely enthralled with it. How everyone's faces were so expressive and real. Her eyes wandered from her mother's expression to Acnologia's. She found that her mother was right. He looked kind and regretful, but it was not a genuine expression. Not when she could feel his want to kill her.

"Demon lord of hell." Rita said, and Mavis commended her mother for not stuttering as she spoke. Mavis wasn't sure if she could've managed that.

"Angel empress of heaven." Acnologia, tilted his head in acknowledgement. "I'm delighted to see you once again, however I wish it were not under these circumstances. Now, in light of the unfortunate incident." Acnologia said sorrowfully.

Mavis felt her anger spike slightly. He called her best friend's death an unfortunate incident! How dare he! It seems that she wasn't the only one who was infuriated by this. She watched as her younger self clutched her mother's hand a little tighter and how she glared a little harder.

"An unfortunate incident!" Mavis cried her big green eyes alight with rage. "How dare you! That's my best friend that was murdered and you don't even admit that it was a murder! To you, it's just an incident and life moves on, but how would you feel if you if your best friend was murdered!" Mavis screamed at him.

Acnologia stared at her like she was an ant he could squash. "You should teach your daughter her place. We can't have our future rulers having… outbursts now, can we? Aren't I right, Zeref?"

Mavis's eyes went to the small child, gripping his mother's hand very tightly. Mavis found that if her mother got anything about this day correct then it was Zeref's expression. Never had Mavis seen so much fear in one place before. "N-no father." He said quietly.

What her mother failed to mention was the black eye and split lip he sported. Acnologia's expression didn't change but he turned back to her mother and said, "You see."

Rita's expression hardened. "I see no reason why _you_ of all people should give me parenting advice. I'm not the one who shamelessly smacks my child around."

"It toughens him up." Acnologia said. "I get that you angels are soft creatures and so, you can't imagine actually gaining your child's obedience."

"Mavis is perfectly well behaved, and I don't have to resort to brutish methods to get there." Mavis had never seen her mother so angry, but the thing was, she wasn't even looking at Acnologia. She was looking at Zeref and Mavis could feel her mother's urge to drag him back home with them, so he wouldn't have any more of those bruises ever again. Mavis could tell, because she begrudgingly felt the same way.

"Well apparently, she isn't as well-behaved as you thought considering she just shouted at the demon lord."

"Perhaps it's your attitude that needs correcting, not Mavis's." Mavis wanted to give her mother a high five for that sick burn, but unfortunately, she couldn't because she was intangible. Acnologia sighed in annoyance.

"Look, can we just forget this transgression. We are terribly sorry, but you must also understand that it was not our fault, you see, there was a rogue demon, and he will be brought to justice so there's nothing left for you to worry your pretty little heads about." Acnologia's voice dripped patronizingly into the air. Mavis wrinkled her nose and cringed with how awful it was.

She then turned her attention from Acnologia to Zeref who, to her surprise, seemed to be staring right at her. Mavis frowned and took a step back, surprised and little frightened. It had to be a coincidence, right? He couldn't really see her, could he? No, he couldn't. This was just a memory she wasn't really here, so he couldn't be looking at her.

"Come, Zeref." Acnologia said roughly. Zeref flinched at his tone and gave her one last pleading look before turning around and walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

 **End of memory**

Mavis blinked and when she opened her eyes again she was back in her mother's bedroom right where she had been before. She knew that she had only been gone a few moments, but to her, it felt like she had been gone for hours. Her mother was asleep beside her and Mavis felt dizzy. Using angel memories always took a lot out of her and left her drained by at least half of her power. But she didn't really mind as it usually returned within 24 hours. She simply needed good night's rest

Mavis sighed and left her mother's side then. She herself had to start preparing for war only, Mavis wasn't sure what to do now. This man she was about to go to war with was more powerful than her mother, who used to be one of the strongest beings in the universe. She couldn't even defeat lord Zeref, and somehow, she didn't think this Acnologia would let her live even if her skirt blew up. Then again, she was wearing pants now, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Mavis walked down the hall to the training area of her palace and watched as, Yuri, Erza, Warrod, Precht, and Laxus, each trained their respective squadrons. The lot of them were not going easy on the army, something she appreciated. Mavis was pondering the possibility that they would not be able to help Zeref. She knew her squadrons were powerful but were they powerful enough to defeat dragons? Mavis sure hoped so because if they could then that would ensure the angel kingdom lived on and prospered.

"Hey, princess!" Yuri cried from the other side of the room, waving at her and dragging Mavis out of her thoughts. "Want a match with me again? Bet you'll lose this time!" Yuri taunted lightly. Mavis smiled and said,

"Oh, I doubt it." She said good humoredly. The empress smirked and grabbed one of the wooden swords on the wall and turned to him, sword raised.

Yuri raised his sword to her as well. "Unguard!" he cried. Then, Yuri jabbed his sword at her and she dodged out of the way and raised her sword to hit him.

Yuri quickly brought his sword up and blocked her strike before backing up and coming at her again. Mavis waited to the last second to dodge and knocked Yuri off his feet with her sword. Yuri cried out and couldn't regain his balance before he fell to the floor. Mavis pointed the sword at his neck and tossed a piece of her hair over her shoulder. "Oh please, princess, have mercy!" Yuri cried. Mavis smirked and made a display of considering his plea.

"Fine, today the princess is feeling merciful." Mavis said and pulled back.

"Why, thank you, kind princess. I am forever in your debt." Yuri said, kissing her hand. Mavis laughed softly and drew back. After every time Yuri was defeated, they had a role play where Yuri asked for mercy. Mavis sometimes granted his wishes and other times, she killed him. It depended on if she was feeling merciful or not. All in good fun, but what she always secretly hoped, was that instead of Yuri on the floor asking for mercy it was the demon king. And she had vowed that when that day did come that she would get justice for Zera, and unlike Yuri, she would not show him mercy.

Mavis liked to think that the reason she wanted to destroy demons was because she thought they were evil beings that deserved only death, and she did believe that, however, she would be lying if she said that was the only reason. The other reason was very obvious. She wanted justice for all the ways that the demons had wronged her. When they took Anna and Porlyusica, when they killed Zera and several other Angels.

Mavis wanted to destroy them. All of them, but most of all the demon king. She would have her justice, her closure. And when the time came she would not feel lonely any longer, because the hole that Zera had left with her death would be filled. Filled with the knowledge that she was able to bring justice to Zera and finally destroy the creatures that had wronged her so many years ago. Now, Mavis was aware that Zera wouldn't want her to bring justice, wouldn't want her to kill for her sake, wouldn't want her to spend her life thinking of doing such things. But it was what Mavis wanted, it was what she needed to feel whole again. And at the moment, nothing else in that regard mattered much in her opinion.

Mavis then left the training area to allow her squadrons to train in peace and walked down the halls of her castle to call lord Zeref and discuss when his father would be coming to pay his little "visit". Mavis was willing to call lord Zeref rather than simply wait around for him to call her, because now that she knew Acnologia being more powerful than her mother, she felt she had cause to worry. Plus, now that she knew just what kind of monster she was dealing with, she could confidently say that there was someone in this world that she hated more than lord Zeref.

However, she didn't even make it to the throne room before she ran into a maid, running down the halls of her castle. Mavis frowned looking at the poor girl. "What is it, dear?" Mavis asked kindly.

"It's, it's." the maid placed her hands on her knees, panting from running so hard and fast. She looked terribly frightened. Mavis waited for her to catch her breath before asking her again. "Something in the sky! A horrible beast!" she cried. Mavis frowned.

"What did he look like?"  
"He was black with huge wings and sharp claws and blue markings and enormous teeth! It looked like… like a, like a dragon!" Mavis froze after hearing that statement. There was no way that Acnologia was already here, was there? Was he getting ready to attack her kingdom? Or would he leave them alone for now? Mavis wasn't sure, so she quickly started running back to the training room and burst through the doors.

"Acnologia is here!" Mavis cried. Her commander's froze for half a second before they sprang into action.

"Everyone grab your weapons from the vault!" Yuri cried. Her army quickly ran to the vault and started grabbing their preferred weapon choice.

Mavis, meanwhile, ran back to the throne room to grab her spear. Despite if Acnologia was coming for her right now or not, she didn't care, she needed to be prepared. She needed to attack and get this over with. No doubt he was already long passed heaven and headed to hell, but that didn't matter to her. She would come ambush him. They were in demon territory, sure, but at least he might not expect them to attack.

Soon, everyone was geared up and ready for battle. "Everyone's ready." Yuri told her. Mavis stood, dressed in golden armor. Her golden breastplate shone magnificently, and she had a short, brown skirt with a belt slithered around her waist. She had brown, armored boots and her divine spear held in her hand. Only she and her mother could wield such a weapon and she was determined to use it's abilities to the fullest. Her hair was braided back, out of her face so that it wouldn't get in the way while she was fighting. The only thing that defined her as different than the rest of her army was the golden crown that rested on her head, signifying that she was the leader.

"Alright then." Mavis said, and looked straight at her people. "Listen, this is going to be the hardest battle we have ever fought." Mavis said gravely. "However, we must persevere and keep fighting the dragons even if we get hurt."

They all nodded and straightened their backs. Mavis smiled at all of them, proud that they were all so brave. "I know that all of you might be apprehensive of helping the demon king, however I assure all of you, this is in our best interest. This way, we can conquer both the dragon kingdom and the demon kingdom and then we angels will be the only magical beings in the universe and no more blood will ever have to be shed, again!" Mavis cried. They all cheered, and Mavis lifted her giant spear. "For heaven!" Mavis shouted, her eyes hard, knowing that this battle would not be easily won and that many people would die.

"For heaven!" her army happily replied. Then, Mavis turned around and they all marched forward, determined to win, not only this battle, but the bloodiest war of all eternity.

* * *

 **A/N Here is the next chapter! I hope you like it. This is still a work in progress, but I feel like I'm almost done with the story. This will probably end up being over 50,000 words which came as a surprise to me. So, with this new chapter I have a challenge for all you lovely readers! The challenge is; can this story get at least one more review before next week's update? Maybe? Okay, I'll take it. Now, thank you all for reading and I apologize for any mistakes. If you find daunting plot holes or even stupid spelling/grammar mistakes tell me if you wish. Otherwise, my next update will be next week hopefully, so until then, goodbye!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thank you for those that have supported this story and read it. And thanks to KYAAAA who has been my second reviewer.**

* * *

Meanwhile, in hell, Zeref was feeling less and less determined every second. He was so nervous because he felt the instant his father drew near. His father's presence was associated with fear and death after all.

Zeref gulped and turned to Invel. "Please open the palace gates and then leave us. Do not return until I fetch you." He said, dressing back into more suitable attire for a demon lord. One thing was for sure, he had to keep everyone he cared about away from his father. Invel nodded and quickly left, brushing passed a small pink-haired figure just outside the doorway.

"Nii-chan? What's going on?" Natsu asked, walking into his room cautiously. Zeref glanced at him in the mirror and said,

"Natsu, do you know where either Gray or Porlyusica is?"

"Well, Porlyusica's in her office, and I think Gray's in his room." That was just as well. It was doubtful that his father would head to the slave quarters or the infirmary.

"I see. Please go to Gray's room, Natsu. I don't want either of you to come out until I tell you that you may. And please lock the doors, just to be safe." Zeref knew very well that no locked door was going to keep his father out of somewhere he wanted to be, but it helped Zeref feel better. Natsu frowned.

"Why? What's going on?" Zeref bit his lip. He knew he had to lie to Natsu, for if he didn't it was more than likely that Natsu would want to meet their father and Zeref would not allow that.

"Natsu," Zeref turned and kneeled in front of him, grabbing his arms. "Just do as I say. At the moment, it's dangerous and I want to keep you as safe as possible." Natsu's frown deepened.

"But Zeref-nii, you're always telling me that I have to be brave and strong and that I shouldn't need any help or protection." Zeref frowned and sighed.

"Yes, I know… but Natsu, sometimes, whether you want to or not, you must ask for help. While it's important not to be needy sometimes… you need to swallow your pride and ask for help when you know that doing something alone will end in unnecessary bloodshed and hurt." Zeref said.

"Nii-chan, you're scaring me." Natsu said, his eyes widening as Zeref went on. Something was off about his brother. Something he'd never seen before. There was fear in those dark eyes. "It's not the angel empress is it?"

"No, Natsu, it's far worse. Which is why you must hide." Natsu shook his head stubbornly.

"No! I'm not going to hide, Zeref. You're scared, I can see it, and if even _you're_ scared, then… then whatever's happening must be really dangerous. You're my brother, but you're more than that too. You haven't only been my brother. You're also my dad, and my mom, and my king, and I would do anything to protect you!"

"You're protecting me by hiding." Zeref said.

"No, I won't hide like a coward!" Natsu cried. Zeref sighed, more than a little frustrated.

"Listen, Natsu… you aren't hiding you're… you're protecting Gray, alright? So just please do as I say." Zeref pleaded. Natsu was still very frightened as Zeref never pleaded for anything, nor did he ask Natsu to hide, nor did he show fear. Something was very, very wrong and all Natsu could do was hope that his brother would be alright.

"Okay… I'll do as you wish, nii-chan." Natsu said, slowly turning around. "But you owe me, and don't you forget it!" Natsu cried, turned and ran down toward the slave quarters. Zeref sighed in relief and slowly stood.

Honestly, it had taken everything in him to send Natsu away. He would rather Natsu face is father rather than him. And he knew those were weak, cowardly, wicked thoughts, but he was so terrified. Seeing his father, it was like he was a child again who submitted to getting beaten, not wanting to anger anyone else anymore.

Zeref licked his lips and straightened up, dreading the moment he'd have to face his father. Hopefully, the angel empress had already noticed his arrival and was coming to help him defeat Acnologia.

So, Zeref slowly walked out of his bedroom and down the hall to the front doors. They were open and there, in the center, was his father in all his glory. He had transformed into a person although he looked more animal than human even with the change.

"Son, how good it is to see you!" his father cried and looked around. "I see you haven't really done much with the place… good, I liked it the way I had it. I really taught you well." Zeref's eyes darted nervously around as he nodded and cleared his throat.

"Yes, I…" Zeref gulped. He couldn't stop the tremble in his voice or the way his hands shook whenever his father glanced at him. "I didn't really see anything that needed changing." He said, his voice hoarse. Acnologia nodded in understanding,

"Yes, it is rather nice if I do say so myself." Acnologia's eyes sharpened as he sent Zeref a look. "Now then, I think it's time we talk about your wrongdoings."

Zeref froze not understanding what he did to deserve this fate. "Um… wrongdoing? I'm afraid that I don't know what you mean, father."

"Mm, perhaps not, but I do." Acnologia said. "I'm talking about your little chat with the angel empress today. You wanted to gain her help to destroy me."

He knew. How did he know, Zeref had never told him a thing! "Think about it Zeref, how could I have known? You certainly didn't tell me, so there was only one other person that knew of your little chat." Zeref shook his head.

"No, Invel wouldn't! You're just trying to get in my head like you always do! Well, it's not going to work this time because I trust Invel! You can't do this to me again because I won't let you!"

Acnologia sighed and shrugged. "I honestly don't care whether you believe me or not. What matters is that I won't let you think you can get away with defying me." Zeref backed up slowly, shaking his head.

"No, you can't do this to me anymore! I'm no longer a child!" Acnologia chuckled darkly.  
"I suppose that means I don't have to hold back." He said. Zeref slowly backed up in fear. He could feel the panic coming back because nothing had changed. In all those ten years, nothing had changed. Zeref was still terrified. His father still ruled his life. Zeref still wouldn't stand up to him even though he was powerful now.

Zeref couldn't do a thing. He was too scared, too trained to attempt to resist. He had to take it. He had committed a sin, going against his father. This was the punishment he must take for such an action.

Zeref knew he wasn't going to fight it as his father drew near, knew he never would.

As Acnologia reached toward him a small rock hit the man's forehead. "Hey! You leave my nii-chan alone!" Natsu cried, picking up another rock and throwing it at his father. This time, Acnologia caught the pebble in his hand and inspected it.

"And who are you?" Acnologia asked, rather annoyed that he'd been interrupted. Natsu lifted his chin, unknowing of the dangers he faced.

"I'm the demon prince, and I will protect my nii-chan at all costs!" Acnologia blinked and then laughed horridly.

"So, this is my other failure of a son. How wonderful. I haven't seen you since you were just a tiny infant. Your lucky boy, your mother was there, and she wouldn't let me touch you. If she hadn't I imagine I would've killed, you a long time ago. I don't have a need for a second son after all. Not when I already have an heir. Maybe, I should finish you off now that your mama ain't here to protect you!"

Natsu scowled at Acnologia. "You sayin' I'm you're son and you're my father." Acnologia smirked.

"Your one and only." Natsu shook his head.

"No! You're not my father, never have been, and never will be! And for your information, I don't need a mother when I have Zeref!" Natsu cried.

"Oh, I see. So Zeref raised you, did he? I bet you're soft then. Zeref always was soft, wasn't he? I remember the way he used to beg me. "Oh, please daddy, don't kill the humans. They have feelings too." Yeah, I know they do, just don't care." Acnologia sneered and mocked. Zeref clenched his fists and glared at his father. He'd rather be soft than like his father any day.

"Leave him alone, father!"

Acnologia scoffed, "Don't you tell me what to do, boy, or I'll give you the whipping of your life-time."

Zeref clenched his teeth at that and shifted uncomfortably. "Leave him alone!" Natsu screamed throwing another pebble. Acnologia moved so fast Zeref barely reached Natsu in time, shielding him from the punch. Natsu wouldn't have survived and Zeref felt light headed. He couldn't tell if it was from fear or pain, though.

"Don't hurt him." Zeref whispered, looking up at his father, his eyes glowing red with murderous intent. "You can hurt me all you'd like, but if you lay a finger on him… I will kill you!" Zeref hissed.

Acnologia didn't look frightened per se, but he did look intrigued, as this was a side of Zeref that had never been presented to him before. "Amusing." Acnologia said, tilting his head. Zeref snarled, turning back to Natsu.

"I told you to stay in your room." Natsu frowned.

"But…" Natsu trailed off when he couldn't think of an excuse like, I heard your screams and was worried, or, I heard banging on my door, so I had to get out of there.

"Natsu, where's Gray?" Natsu shrugged.

"Beats me." He said. Zeref sighed but didn't press. Gray, unlike Natsu, was not so rash and if he was around, was well hidden.

Zeref then, let go of Natsu and stood up. "Leave now, or else there'll be trouble." Natsu pouted but slowly backed away from the battle scene and ran. "Well, at least I know you're not as weak as you were ten years ago." Acnologia said. "If you were that punch would've killed you. But look, you're alive and standing. I'd say that's pretty good considering you're worthless."

Zeref ignored him and stepped forward. "Come at me. I'm ready to fight you." Anger coursed through him, threatening to tear him apart. Zeref wasn't sure what he felt anymore. Was it fear, pain, anger, hatred? Zeref just didn't know anymore.

And yes, he still remembered the scars carved deeply into his back as well as soul. However, he knew he could not hide from his father forever. The angel empress could not defeat him alone and Zeref could not stand on the sidelines any longer. So, even if it hurt he had to persevere, he had to keep going. And no one could make him stop.

"Tell me Zeref, why is it that you're suddenly feeling so brave and confident?" Acnologia asked. Zeref took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. He couldn't let his father get to him, he couldn't lose the rage. If he did then the fear would return, and he would be crippled by it and it would kill him. Fear meant death when facing his father. "Is it because you know the angel empress is coming to aid you?" he wondered.

"Maybe it is and maybe it isn't." Zeref said lowly. Acnologia tilted his head, that playful smirk still on his face.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you see… she's not coming." Zeref frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"Well let's just say that it's pretty likely that she ran into some trouble while coming down from… heaven." Acnologia spit out the word heaven like it tasted bad.

"What did you do to her?" Zeref snarled. Acnologia shrugged non-committedly.

"I only set some dragons in her path." He said as if it wasn't a big deal. Zeref clenched his fists. That would certainly slow the angel empress down. Zeref wasn't sure if she could get here in time to save him from his father. Zeref was angry, but he wasn't stupid. He knew he had to buy time. And he knew that he wasn't going to do that by fighting his father. So Zeref gulped, swallowed all his pride, and ran as fast as he could away from Acnologia. He didn't have any other choice. Until the angel empress arrived then he was helpless against his father. He knew that his army was busy destroying the dragons, and everyone else who couldn't fight was hidden.

There was no one else. No one that could help him. Just like all the other times he had faced his father, he was alone. And like all the other times he was scared. And so, like all the other times, he ran.

Maybe he could gain some safety in the west wing. There was a fairly powerful barrier there and only those with his permission could enter. Zeref knew that it wouldn't keep his father away forever, although, it would slow him down for a while. That was all Zeref needed.

"You can run from me boy, but you can't hide." _Watch me_ Zeref thought, smirking as he entered the west wing. His father hadn't been here in a while. He didn't know the passages as well as Zeref did. At the moment Zeref entered the walls shifted, so now, there was a wall behind him and Acnologia would have to find another passage that led to the west wing. Zeref sighed in relief, never had he been so grateful to this stupid maze of a castle. Zeref then, assessed his surroundings, but as he did so Zeref became more confused. He didn't remember this part of the west wing, which was balderdash. He knew all the in's and out's of this castle. He'd been in every room, he knew the patterns the walls took, he'd spent years studying it, so how was it that he'd completely missed this room!

Zeref frowned as he walked inside. Deeper, and deeper he went, searching for a sign of familiarity. But the further he walked the more unrecognizable this place became.

It was very obviously a bedroom. It would be a normal one if it weren't for the room's sheer size. A bed was pushed up against the wall and the curtains were pulled back, revealing a single circle of light in the middle of the room. Everything was dusty, and it was obvious the room had gone unoccupied for quite some time.

Zeref was about to leave because honestly, this room was creeping him out, however just then, something caught his eye. Beside the bed was a nightstand and on top of the night side, tucked in the back corner, Zeref could make out a shape.

He walked to the dresser and picked it up. He could tell now that it was a picture but to really see what it was a picture of, he needed more light.

So, Zeref went to the center of the room and stood in the small circle of light, his eyes narrowed at the picture. It was a picture of him, or rather, him and his family. A full family photo.

See, many years ago, even before his father left, when Zeref was about thirteen, his mother had dropped off the face of the earth. Never to be seen again. There were no photos of her, she was cut out of every one of them. There was nothing that belonged to her in the castle. Zeref had no memories of her.

But this photo had all of them. He stood in front, smiling shakily at the camera, his father behind him with a tight grip on his left shoulder. His mother stood beside him with a baby in her arms, smiling beautifully, like nothing he had seen before. Zeref frowned as he squinted at the picture.

What was this, it had to be some kind of mistake! That couldn't be his mother. Just then he heard a creek behind him, in the doorway. Zeref jumped and whirled around, wondering if it was his father, and knowing he was dead if it was. But it wasn't.

Anna stood in the doorway, a small smile on her face. The smile was the same as in the picture. "So, you finally found this room." She said quietly.

"The… this room? What is this room exactly?"

"This is my room." Anna whispered, her brown eyes flickering up to his.

Zeref stumbled back, memories flashing through his mind. Memories of his mother, of who she was, memories of Anna.

Anna frowned, walking slowly toward him. "Zeref…" Zeref shook his head and held up a hand.

"Stop! D-don't come near me." Everything felt so surreal and the world was spinning. Anna couldn't be his mother. She wasn't, he wouldn't let her be. Zeref shuddered, "You can't be my mother… my mother died a very long time ago." Zeref said.

"That's only what your father wanted you to believe… please, allow me to explain."

Zeref gulped and scooted back a little more, not comfortable with their proximity. "Fine, go ahead, it doesn't change anything."

Anna sighed. "Alright, but, you must hear me until the very end." Zeref's brows furrowed and he nodded.

"Alright." Zeref said. Anna crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall, trying to think of where to start.

"Okay, so… many, many years ago I fell in love with… with your father. He was, a very kind man, and even though I was angel, I knew I couldn't keep my feelings hidden from him, or myself forever. So, when I was just a girl, I went to him and confessed my feelings." Anna paused, her brown eyes turning sad.

"As you can imagine, I was overjoyed when he accepted them. So, in secret we went out again and again and we slowly fell in love. I loved him at the start, but as our relationship continued, I started to fear that I didn't love him and only loved the danger of the situation."

"Danger?" Zeref asked, frowning.

"Yes. The danger of being caught on our little expeditions. You see, only my sister, Layla, knew of our relationship and I told her every little detail."

"She betrayed you." Zeref said, his eyes narrowing.

"No, dear, she would never do such a thing. She disapproved, didn't like us going against tradition, however she was my sister and my best friend. She would never give away my secrets unless she thought I was getting hurt. And in this case, the only thing that would hurt me is giving away those secrets."

"No, it was my own foolishness… We had a good run, your father and I, but it wasn't love, it was nothing more than passion. I broke our affair off only a few months after we were going out. I was sad, but there was another man, one whom I knew I loved. The one I was set to marry. However, not long after I broke it off with your father I found out… I found out there was a baby." Anna said and sighed. "That baby… was you. I was devastated when I found out."

"You didn't want me… I was a mistake." Anna sighed.

"Yes… you were. It never should've happened, it was a miscalculation on my part."

"Then why didn't you abort?" Zeref asked, his eyes dark.

"Well, I considered it many times, but thinking of such a wicked thing made me sick to my stomach. I had many opportunities, Porlyusica wouldn't have told. But I couldn't do it. I could not correct my greatest mistake…" Anna covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her sobs as tears ran down her face.

Anna licked her lips when she composed herself and continued, "I told your father about you. I didn't have a choice. The entity in me was clearly demonic. I had to have help. When your father found out about you, he was… surprised. I knew that I couldn't go back to the angel kingdom, knew that it could never be, so I had to gain his hand in marriage. I was surprised when he accepted so readily but didn't think anything of it… then, I unfortunately made the mistake of returning to my kingdom one last time to tell my fiancé of where I was going. He told the angel empress and she had no choice but to take my wings. I was loathed to it and told her not to do such a thing, for I was pregnant with a child. But, it was law that my wings were to be removed at once. She wished you and me well and went through with it. It was a dreadful and terrible procedure and unfortunately, I wasn't the only one to suffer for my actions. Porlyusica too became fallen and banished from heaven because she had helped me help you. She was my doctor, to make sure the baby was healthy." Anna took a deep breath and sighed, "After I had been made fallen, I was afraid that you had died."  
"Your father assured me, however, that you were indeed alive, and that you were not as fragile as a human child. I was relieved to hear that. When you were born I was terrified that I would die from the stress of having a magical being in a mortal body. Thankfully, both you and I survived, although it was terribly difficult and put strain on both of us. I believe that if Porlyusica had not been there things would not have ended quite so happily."

"You were so cute, and I loved you so much, even if you cost me my life I knew, right then, I would happily do it a million times over if it meant I could hold you in my arms every single time."

Zeref smiled a little at that. It was good to know that at least one parent loved him. "Your father and I loved you with all our hearts, and I knew, demon or not, I wanted to raise you to be kindhearted and joyful. I wanted you to be the very best you could be and treat everyone as equals… your father, however, had other plans. Those plans weren't so obvious in the first few years of your life, but as you grew, his intentions became clearer and clearer."  
"He wanted to raise me to be a demon king." Zeref said darkly, but Anna shook her head.

"No, he wanted to raise you to be a machine, used to help him conquer my homeland." Anna said. "You had both angel and demon blood running through you veins. You were an impossibility, a powerful one." Anna shook her head. "At first, I indulged your father, allowed him to teach you how to fight with your hands and knives. I allowed him to teach you how to kill. But then… then you started coming to me with the bruises when you were about 6. Then the cuts, then the lashes." Anna shivered.

"I became so angry at your father, wondered what I could've ever seen in him… I began to hate him for what he did to you. Hated him for telling me to stop coddling you. Little did I know at that time, that I was pregnant for your brother. Natsu, you see, was a little easier for me to have because he was had more angel than demon blood running though him. That's why his hair's pink instead of black or red and why he doesn't use cursed magic. Anyway, when he was born I couldn't pay as much attention to you I didn't… I was blind to what he was doing to you and I… I couldn't." Anna was sobbing again. "I couldn't protect you, not until it was too late." She shook her head. "When you came to me one night, half dead, I knew I couldn't take it anymore. I knew you couldn't take it anymore. And I wouldn't let him do to Natsu what he'd done to you. I told him that night, that I was taking the two of you and leaving… he was less than happy when I told him so. You were with Porlyusica, getting your wounds treated at the time and he wouldn't let me leave. He told me, that he would keep me here forever, he didn't care whether it be as his wife or as his prisoner either. That's when the west wing became my home. When he wiped everyone's memories of me. Not even Porlyusica or you remembered me."

"I was devastated and sat here alone, hoping that you were okay. And when I finally saw you again… you weren't a boy any longer. You were… a lot like your father in so many ways and I hated you for it. But, even then, it wasn't you that I hated, it was your father. But he wasn't there for me to hate so you had to be it and… I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I'm sorry you had to grow up without a mother. It's all my fault and I'm sorry." She slid down the wall, sobbing. "I'm so, so sorry." She wiped her tears away and sighed.

Zeref didn't understand how anyone could fall in love with his father but supposed that he hadn't known his father 50 or so years ago. To be honest, this story explained a lot about Anna. Why she was so willing to help him, not because of revenge for the angel kingdom, but because he was her son and she wanted him to succeed. "Well… that's quite a story." Zeref felt his memories vaguely coming back. "But if father altered my memories, how come I'm starting to remember you?"  
"Because you've seen my face and connected it to your mother. That's why Acnologia got rid of my face in all the photos, because if you had seen me with you and Acnologia you might've connected me to your mother. I'm not even sure explaining this to you would've broken the spell, but since now, you have irrefutable evidence… your mind is starting to remember."

"Yeah… I am." Zeref said, frowning. His head was pounding, and he thought that perhaps he should stop hiding like a coward and at least die like a man. "Listen… Acnologia is here now."

"Oh, I know, darling." Anna said. "It's a little hard not to sense his murderous intent." She said dryly.

"Well then, you say I have angel blood running through my veins. What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that because you have demonic and angelic blood you are able to wield both white and black magic. It means that if you were taught, you could learn to heal."

"Does Natsu have the same ability?"  
"No. While he's not pure demon, he doesn't have the magical ability. Only you have it because you were conceived while I was still an angel. Had I been fallen then you would not have that ability either."

"So, this power, it makes me strong, wanted?" Anna nodded.

"It does indeed." Anna told him. "At the moment you are the only one in this castle who could even come close to defeating Acnologia, so please… please do what I could not and protect those dear to you." Zeref frowned and slowly got up on his position.

"Okay…" he said quietly. "Thank you, Anna." Anna smiled softly, not commenting that he had used her first name instead of mother. She didn't really mind. He'd never thought of her as one while he was growing up, so it didn't really matter to her if he called her mother or not. Such names were titles, and they were meant to be endearing. Neither of them, however, had ever endeared themselves to one another.

"Go get him." Zeref took one last glance behind him at the strange room before quickly turning around and dashing back down the hall, now prepared to do what he had to.

* * *

 **A/N Well, there's the big plot twist I've been planning since chapter like, 3. Originally I didn't plan on this happening in either chapter 1 or 2, so if there's errors/plot holes please tell me and I will fix them right up and I'm sorry if it felt rushed at the end. Also, congratulations! You all completed the challenge I set last week. So, this week I'm going to issue the same challenge. Will you complete it this time too? Maybe? I'll take it. As always reviews/favorites/follows are always welcome. No huge news this week, but thank you all for reading! I'll see you next week.**


	7. Chapter 7

Mavis couldn't believe the kind of trouble she was in. Five dragons, attacking her troops on her way to hell. "Well this is a nice surprise." She grumbled sarcastically. Going through all this trouble and letting her people get hurt just to end some stupid war? She wasn't even sure saving the demon king was worth it.

Then again, when Acnologia had him finished off, he'd come after her and Mavis couldn't allow that to happen. "Turn around and return to your kingdom now, or things might get ugly." A gray one that seemed to be made of metal said.

"I don't care." Mavis told him. "I made a deal with the demon king and I intend to follow through." Mavis said, raising her spear of divinity.

"Princess…" Yuri said through gritted teeth. "Should we really antagonize them?" Mavis titled her chin.

"Whether we do or do not antagonize them the results will be the same." She answered. "Now, raise your swords and fight!"

As Mavis was about to charge she felt a hand on her shoulder. "No, empress." Erza said quietly. "Leave these dragons to us. You go and help the demon lord defeat the black dragon." Mavis frowned, unsure if her army could handle this many dragons without her.

"Are you sure?"

"You must go now. Or he'll be dead before you reach him."

"You don't seem to think very highly of his abilities." Precht told her, his eyes serious.

Erza turned to him and shook her head. "It isn't that. I know that he's powerful. I'm only saying that if the black dragon is as strong as the rumors claim, then not even the demon lord will stand a chance by himself." Erza turned to her. "So, you must go help him. If he dies before you both get there then you don't stand a chance against him alone either. Please… we'll take care of this."

"Are you sure?"

"Dang nabbit, just go out there and fight! I know that if you go out there and show those two good-for-nothing scoundrels, you'll spank them into next week!" Laxus growled what Mavis assumed to be encouragement.

"Spank them?" Erza asked doubtfully. Laxus glared at her.

"Don't go making things up in that dirty little mind of yours! Everyone knew what I meant."

Mavis smirked and sighed. "Yes, Laxus, I did know what you meant so there's no need to fight, you two."

"Well, if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that you have to go help the demon lord!" Warrod exclaimed. Mavis nodded and gripped her spear.

"Since you're all sure that you can handle these beasts… I will go. Please, all of you, be safe." Mavis said, still concerned that they might get killed.

"We will princess, we will." Yuri said. So, Mavis dove down as fast as her wings would carry her, down to the palace. She dove through several layers of the universe, down to the very bottom where hell rested, in all it's glory. Mavis frowned as she closed in. In the doorway of the castle there were four people. Each was a young child, around ten years old. And they stood in the middle of a heap of bodies. Mavis's boots touched the pavement just at the foot of the steps leading up to the castle.

Now that she was closer she could see the eldest was a dark-haired boy with spikes sticking up every-which-way. Then their appeared to be two boys. One with blonde hair, the other black. They were around the same age. Then the last was at least a few years younger than the others and she had long blue hair.

Each child looked ready to murder her the instant she stepped foot on the castle grounds. "What do you want!" the first snarled. Mavis tilted her chin.

"I'm the empress of angels, Mavis Vermillion, and I'll have to ask you to please step aside, as I am on a very important mission and to complete it, I must have access to this palace."

"Is that so?" the blonde asked in a taunting tone. Mavis scowled and pointed her spear.

"Whether you believe me or not it will become clear to you once I have decimated this stronghold." She said. The blonde rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, let's see if your bite is as big as your bark."

"I am not a dog." Mavis deadpanned. "And very well." She added, "I have no quarrel with you and so I shall get rid of you all quick and painlessly."

"Wendy, get back." The tallest boy said, metal piercings all over his face. The girl complied and took several steps back. Mavis didn't think it would matter this would all be over soon. "Divine… Light!" Mavis shouted. From her spear golden light erupted and went sailing towards the children. Mavis wished that there was no need for bloodshed, however, there was no other way to get past.

As the smoke cleared it revealed the blonde-haired boy, eating her divine light! What was going on! There was no way someone could simply eat her light attacks. "What… what happened?" Mavis asked, confused and a little fearful. She was certainly stronger than these children but if her attacks couldn't reach than it didn't matter how powerful she was.

"Holy dragon's roar!" the blonde cried. Mavis frowned, this dragon child possessed holy magic. That shouldn't be possible. Dragons were dragons and they possessed several different types of magic, which was one of the reasons why even demons and angels feared them. However, there were two magics that dragons should not be able to possess, Holy, and cursed. Those were the magics that angels and demons possessed and at no other time could any other species wield such magic.

Mavis raised her spear and blocked the attack. The light shattered immediately, and the boy was left panting. "What! That was my most powerful attack! How are you still standing!"

"Do not try to use my own magic against me." Mavis told them. "It will end in tragedy. Now then, I suggest you let me pass before I have to unleash my true power." She said. The children glared at her and the blonde stubbornly shook his head.

"No!" Mavis scowled and raised her spear.

"What are you four anyway? And how can you, of all people, use holy magic?"

"I'm an angel. I'm an angel who decided to use dragon slaying magic!" the boy said proudly, crossing his arms. "I ran away from home like, five years ago, because everything was so boring and all of you were too "kindhearted". I couldn't stand it." The boy spat. "I mean, what's the point of being good if you can't be bad once in a while? Answer, there is no point, and it makes for a pretty boring life!" the boy said. Mavis furrowed her eyebrows, not remembering this boy. Someone who had ran away years ago…

"Sting?" Mavis wondered. He was much older and bigger than she remembered.

"The one and only." Sting said, smirking. Mavis frowned and looked at the other children.

"Why on earth are all you children serving Acnologia of all people?"

"We don't serve him." the pierced kid said. "None of us even like him, he's a prick. But our parents serve him, and I guess you know what that means for us."

"Your parents… who are your parents anyway?"  
"Our parents are the dragons you were fighting before you came here." Wendy said.

"So, then you must be…" Mavis started, not believing it.

"The "rumored" dragon children? Hell, yeah we are!" Sting said, smirking. "I'm Sting, the white dragon slayer!"

"I am Rogue, the shadow dragon slayer. Together, Sting and I make up the twin dragon slayers."

"I am Wendy, the sky dragon slayer, also known as maiden of the sky!"

"And I'm Black-steel Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer."

"And you don't want to mess with us!" Sting growled. Mavis sighed and lowered her spear slightly.

"Listen, I don't want to mess with you, you're right. I just… want to get passed you. If I don't then many people could die. Do you want that to happen?" Mavis asked. The children all looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

"Well… I certainly don't want anyone to die." Wendy said quietly.

"This is a trick! Our parents said that nobody was going to die!" Sting growled.

"And just how gullible are you?" Mavis cried. "I mean, this is war, of course people are going to die! But if you let me through right now then I can help defeat Acnologia and all of you can go on, living with your parents in peace." Mavis knew that it was a very tempting offer.

"Aw c'mon! You don't really believe her, do you? She's obviously lying! She's our enemy, of course she would lie! You can't trust anyone but yourselves." Gajeel growled.

"But what if a lot of people die." Wendy whispered. "What if… what if we die?" she wondered. Mavis nodded.

"I promise that if you all stop now, then you will all be safe."

"What about our parents?" Rogue asked.

"Angels don't kill people if they don't have to." Mavis said.

"You've been killing demons since the beginning of time!" Sting exclaimed.

"Only because there's no other way. If we don't kill them, they will kill us." Mavis told the children. They were too young to understand now, but some day they would. "So, what do you think?

"Come on, are you really falling for this?" Gajeel cried.

"Well, it's better then dying." Rogue said.

Sting sighed. "All in favor of letting her pass say I."

"I." Rogue and Wendy said.

"Great! Now we have a tie!" Sting cried throwing his hands up.

"We wouldn't have a tie if you'd just vote yes!" Wendy said, exasperated.

"The same could be said for you! If you'd just vote no, then we wouldn't have a tie either!"

"It's a yes." Rogue said.

"NO!" Gajeel growled. The four glared at each other. Mavis just blinked and watched as the group of four started turning on each other and fighting.

Mavis slowly started to creep into the castle and closed the door softly when she was inside. Now, she was at the entrance, but she had no idea where to go from here.

"Hello?" Mavis called. Mavis slowly walking forward. She frowned and started looking around, trying to find something, anything. "Is anyone in here?" Mavis felt like she was setting herself up to get attacked, but what else could she do? This wasn't her castle, she didn't know where she was going.

Mavis walked into one room and looked around, "Hello? Where is everyone?" Mavis was a few steps in when the wall behind her moved. She let out a small scream before backing up. "What is that?" she cried.

Mavis couldn't believe that the wall just moved. What sort of crazy castle was this?" Mavis rolled her eyes and continued onward. Even the castle was crazy. Demons were completely unpredictable. One moment they looked like they wanted to rip her throat out, the next, they were begging for her help… while still looking like they wanted to rip her throat out. Mavis sighed and kept searching, but not sure what she was looking for. "Hello?" Mavis thought she might be about to die. Maybe this was all some elaborate ruse to destroy her… still, it was hard to fake the fear in the demon lord's eyes. And her mother's memories… well, they confirmed that he was telling the truth. "Someone answer me before I leave you all to die!" Mavis growled, searching. "Hello?" Mavis called again.

"Hello." Mavis jumped and whirled behind her, spear pointed. The boy raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? Your even more jumpy than Dumbo."

"Dumbo? Who's that?"

"You know, Zeref, Dumbo."

"… You know, that's a really mean name uh…"

"Gray. And I know. That's why I call him that."

"I take it you're not on the best of terms." Mavis said, crossing her arms. Another child? Did she have to fight this one too?  
"Actually we put up with each other pretty well. To me he's like a… stupid, good-for-nothing, bad influential, murdering father figure." Gray said. What Mavis found amusing was that he managed to sound chipper and yet she could tell he knew he was mocking Zeref.

"I see… so, is he around here?" Gray tilted his head and looked her up and down.

"You're not from here, are you?"

"No, I'm an angel." Mavis thought he might freak out, but he didn't.

"Are you here to kill Zeref?"

"No…" Not right at this moment anyway.

"… I should've known it was too good to be true." Gray said with a sigh.

"You really don't like each other."

"It's how we show affection."  
"I don't think that's healthy."

"Well then, it's a good thing I don't care what you think." Gray said and turned around. "But if you want to find him, you're going in the wrong direction."

"You know where he is?" Mavis asked hopefully.

"Oh, I don't know, do I?"  
"You are insufferable." Mavis said, scowling. Gray shrugged.

"Beggars can't be choosers you know. I mean, if I had a choice do you really think I'd be in hell right now? No, I'd be on Earth with my REAL mom and dad, but no, I'm stuck here."

Mavis's eyes darkened slightly. "You're human."

"Unfortunately. If I was powerful I'd give Dumbo the what-for!" Gray raised his fists and punched the air.

"Uh huh, how's that working out for you?" Gray scowled and sighed,

"It's a work in progress. Now then, if you want to find him, then follow me. If you try to find Zeref by yourself then you'll be lost down these tunnels in a manner of seconds."  
"Oh yes, that reminds me. Did you know that your walls move?" Gray gave her an infuriating blank look and said flatly,

"No, we're all blind." He said sarcastically. Mavis growled and followed him.

"How many times has lord Zeref threatened to kill you?"

"Too many times to count, but we all know that in reality… I would win." Mavis rolled her eyes and didn't even comment on that ridiculous claim.

"Where are we headed anyway?"

"We're headed to the west wing." Gray said.

"How do you know lord Zeref's there?"  
"Dumbo is painfully predictable. Acnologia is here, and there's only one place in this castle that offers some protection, holding a beast that, when angered, is almost as savage as Acnologia."

"And the demon lord would hide out there willingly?" Mavis cried, appalled.

"I see your starting to understand why I call him Dumbo." Unfortunately, she did. "The west wing has a barrier and only those with Zeref's permission can cross. You don't have permission, but I do." Gray said.

"And he just lets you roam around with a beast!"

"The beast is docile when I'm in there." Gray gave her a look, a mischievous glint in his eye. "She killed all the others." Mavis blinked and was still horrified.

"But then… why would she keep you alive?" Mavis asked.

"Because I interest her." Gray said proudly. Mavis sighed and kept following him.

"Alright, does this beast have a name?"  
"Anna." Gray said. Mavis stared at him for a long while before glaring.

"I thought it was an actual beast!"

"It is." Gray answered. Mavis was silent for a long time.

"Point taken." She said finally. As they moved through the halls of the palace there were several walls that just flipped around whenever. Mavis frowned. "What is this place anyway?" Mavis asked.

"This is the castle of hell. Maybe I should call you Captain Obvious because… well, you point out the obvious, obviously." Mavis glared at him.

"I mean, why do the walls move like that?"

"Well, they move like that because this is a maze. And I know what you're thinking and no, it's not random, although it is very complicated. The castle walls move every hour, the combinations change every day, except it's the same for the entire month. So, like, all the Monday's of April will have the same combination, as will the Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Then, the combinations for the week days and hours change every month."

"That's… that's impossible!"

"Maybe for someone of inferior intellect." Mavis only glared at him and Gray sighed. "Alright, it's not impossible, but I won't lie, it's not easy. Not even the demon lord knows all the passages you can take." Mavis looked thoughtful.

"Isn't that rather troublesome?"

"Yes, it is. However, this makes it impossible for enemies to storm the castle. Sometimes, it can take weeks to find a dead body…" Gray smirked. _So that's why Natsu told me that I would fail if I tried to storm the castle_ Mavis thought.

"Alright then, are we almost there?" Mavis asked.

"Yes." Gray said, continuing onward.

Soon, they reached the west wing where Gray stood on the edge. "Alright, I'm going to go find Dumbo in the west wing and you wait here. I'll get him to let you in."

"I'm not just gonna sit here and wait for you!" Mavis cried.

"Well, it's not like you have any other choice."

"Well I could just destroy this stupid barrier!"

"And make the rest of us lose any protection we might've had? I don't think so." Mavis scowled and raised her spear. Gray sighed and glared at her. "Come on, it will only be a moment. I'll be out in no time." Gray said.

"Only a moment?" Mavis asked. Gray nodded.

"Well… Alright." Mavis agreed reluctantly. When Gray dashed off into the west wing Mavis sighed and leaned against the wall, already growing impatient.

Mavis had only been there a few moments before she heard some footsteps to her right. Frowning, Mavis turned in that directions, "Hello?" she wondered.

"Hello." She heard. As the man rounded the corner Mavis saw that he was tall and had a strong build. Long light blue hair ran down his back and blue markings appeared all over his body. Overall his appearance was rather frightening. He was tanned, and his muscles were well defined.

"Who are you? Mavis asked, taking a few steps back, sensing danger and death all around this man. He was smirking and stood straight.

"I'm Acnologia. What's your name?"

* * *

 **A/N Here's the new chapter. Sorry it's a little short. I was wondering if I should go into more detail about the layers of the universe. Do you guys think I should? If so, tell me. If not, the don't answer the question. I plan on updating twice this week. One today, and one Sunday so keep an eye out for the update! As always reviews/favorites/follows are all welcome. Bye! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Zeref walked out of the room and down the hall. As soon as Zeref rounded the corner a force ran right into him. "Ow…" the force groaned and fell backwards. Zeref raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here?" Zeref asked.

"I'm here to tell you that the angel empress is here." Gray told him, bouncing up like some sort of bunny rabbit.

"She's here already? I didn't expect that." Zeref said, mildly surprised. "I thought it would take her longer considering father said she wouldn't be coming…"

"Your dad is here?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow. Zeref paused and then nodded.

"Yes, he is, and you can't meet him. So, tell me where the angel empress is and then go to your room."

"Make me." Gray said challengingly. Zeref felt rage start to creep up on him, but Zeref pushed it down as far as he could. This was not the time or the place for rage.

"Gray." Zeref said seriously, bending down to his level. "I need you to go to your room." Zeref said, grabbing his shoulders. The rage would only show Gray that he wasn't serious, but he was dead-serious. Gray frowned, much like Natsu had, knowing something was wrong. "Please."

"Please?" Gray asked, scoffing. "Is this a joke?"

"No joke, Gray, I don't want you getting hurt." Zeref said, concerned. "So, go."

"Well… alright, if it's really that important to you, Dumbo."

"Dumbo? You haven't called me that since you were six!"

"… Not to your face." Gray said smirking. Zeref scowled and rolled his eyes.

"Well, why start all of a sudden?" Gray shrugged,

"You only live once."

"Whatever," Zeref grumbled. "Where is Mavis? You didn't just leave her, did you?" Gray at least had the decency to look sheepish when he admitted,

"Mavis is at the entrance of the west wing." Zeref sighed at Gray's stupidity. You didn't leave someone who didn't know the castle alone, in the palace, with no one to help them.

"What rotation is this?" he asked.

"The 14th." Zeref paused for a split second and then nodded.

"Alright." He said and continued onward. "Thank you Gray and stay safe."

"Ugh! Stop being so nice, it's sickening!" Gray cried. Zeref sighed and clenched his fists.

"Listen kid… after all this is over, I need to tell you something, and I know you'll hate me after but… you deserve to know." Zeref told him. Blue eyes turned confused but Zeref didn't say anything more so Gray shrugged and ran off.

Zeref sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had to tell that kid. It was important, and Zeref couldn't keep lying anymore. Gray kind of liked him, no matter what he pretended, maybe he even thought that Zeref was a decent person. And Zeref… Zeref loved that kid like another brother, and that's why he had to tell him. That's why he would tell him the truth about his parents. And if telling him the truth meant letting him go, then that's what Zeref would do.

His father, lying to him about his mother, her origins, why she was gone. He was so angry. He supposed his father had figured that what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, but the thing about that logic was… what happened when he figured it out? He was more hurt than if his father had told him the truth in the first place. Then again, he didn't expect anything decent out of that man anyway, so it lessened the blow but he and Gray… they didn't hate each other like Zeref hated his father. He knew it would hurt… Zeref knew he had to do it though. Who knew, maybe Gray would forgive him one day.

Zeref was a little turned around for a while, as he'd never been in this part of the castle, however he soon found his way to a familiar part of the castle and found his way to the entrance of the west wing from there.

What Zeref saw made his blood freeze. Mavis had blood on her body, almost everywhere, and his father stood across from her, not a scratch on him, smirking. Then, his father turned to him. "Oh, hello there, son, your girlfriend's here to save you. Honestly, I raised my son better than to beg angels of all beings for help." Acnologia wrinkled his nose. "Don't you remember what they did to your mother?"

Yes, the big secret as to why he hated angels. They had killed his mother, except they hadn't. "Shut up!" Zeref hissed, his rage tripling. "You're a lying sack of crap!" He screamed. Acnologia scowled.

"Excuse me boy? I taught you to respect your elders!"

"You never taught me one thing! Not one! All you did was beat me while screaming things in my ear!" Zeref shrieked. "You've beaten me, you ruined my life, you whipped me, and you treated me like I was worthless! And now, on top of all of that, you've lied to me about almost everything! The only sympathy I ever had for you! The only reason that I could empathize with you was because she was dead! Because you lost her! The only thing we had in common was her death! Was the guilt and the rage of what they did to us! But all of that was fake because they never did anything! My mother is alive and perfectly healthy, and she has been right beside me the entire time which is more than I could say of you! You erased my memory, you sick jerk!"

"Now I don't know what you're talking about." Acnologia said, glaring. "Don't go on about nonsense, son."

"Nonsense!" Zeref screamed. "I'll show you nonsense." Zeref grabbed the dagger at his side and raised it, ready to destroy his father. He may have been fearful before, but the rage outweighed the fear. Zeref was too furious to pay attention to it. He hated his father, and he hated that he had been conceived by such a vulgar man. Being the son of a fallen angel was better then knowing the reason he lived and breathed was his father.

Then, Zeref ran at him, his blade raised. "Dark decent!" Zeref screamed as the blade arced through the air and buried itself in his father's forearm. His father, however, didn't even flinch. Zeref felt himself grow slightly fearful again, not able to believe that one of his strongest spells didn't even make his father wince. How was that possible, just how powerful had his father gotten? Acnologia sighed like this was a chore.

"Now Zeref, honestly. That was not very mature of you. Now, stop this foolishness now and I will allow you to live. Know that I am only offering this once because you are my son." Zeref wrinkled his nose.

"Oh please, it's not because I'm your son, it's because I've angel and demon blood running through me."

"Who told you that?" Acnologia demanded. Zeref sneered.

"The only other person who knows." Acnologia scowled.

"I see… so you really do remember. Funny, I thought that memory spell was permanent unless you saw a family photo…"

"I did, and you forgot one in my mother's room, genius." Zeref snarled and yanked his dagger out.

"Divine light!" Mavis cried. Zeref and Acnologia both dodged.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Zeref cried. "Were you trying to hit me too?"  
"No, but just think of it this way. I'm not gunning for you, but if I do hit, then I consider it a bonus." Mavis said with a shrug. Zeref glared at her and turned back to face his father who was already running at him.

Zeref barely had enough time to dodge his father's brutal attack. "I gave you a chance, Zeref. Know that when I kill you."

"Save your breath." Zeref grumbled and kept dodging his father's quick, powerful attacks. Zeref couldn't believe he was actually fighting his father! It was honestly a small victory, but he was still really proud of himself.

Zeref was so lost in thought he barely had time to dodge the next blow his father gave. However, as Zeref stepped back he stepped on something, tripped, and fell. "Ouch! What the hell!" Zeref cried.

"Kids, what can you do?" Acnologia said, knocking one of Natsu's stupid toys out of the way.

"I told him to clean up the palace last week!" Zeref growled. Acnologia shrugged and shot a beam of darkness at him. Zeref didn't even have time to move. He flinched and prepared himself for the blow that would surely kill him.

"Ice make, shield!" Zeref heard a voice call out behind him. All of a sudden, a shield made of ice appeared so fast Zeref didn't even have time to blink. The magic hit and the shield didn't hold long but it was long enough for Zeref to scramble out of the way. Panting, Zeref turned around to thank whoever had just made that ice shield, but those words died on his tongue…

"Gray? THE HECK! What're you doing here!" Zeref cried. "I told you to hide!"

"And name all the times I've listened to you."

"YOU DO WHAT I SAY ALL THE TIME!"

"Yeah, but I go out of my way only to do exactly what you tell me." Zeref took a deep breath and sighed, "You're not going to calm down by taking deep breaths, Dumbo."

"Ugh, get out of the way!" Mavis cried, blasting them with her magic spear. The magic hit near them and it blasted them out of the way of Acnologia's next attack. "I hate to break it to you, but he's not going wait for you to argue your way into agreement!... Oh, and I only helped because the attack would've hit the kid too." Mavis said. "Even if he is insufferable." She grumbled afterward. Zeref grabbed Gray, pulled him to his chest, and flipped around so that he was on the bottom and hit the ground first.

Zeref quickly recovered and was soon on his feet when it occurred to him. "Gray… did you just… use magic?" Zeref asked. "I don't understand, you're human."

"I'll explain later." Gray told him.

"A human that can use magic." Acnologia said, sounding intrigued. Zeref glared at his father and pointed his dagger.

"Back off." Zeref growled. "Everything inside this here castle belongs to me, and I'm not giving any of it up to you!"

"You don't own me!" both Gray and Mavis shouted at the same time. Zeref didn't care what they said. He already had the perfect response lined up for this exact statement,

"I don't care. If I don't own you, he does." Zeref said, pointing to Acnologia. At the same time both Gray and Mavis wrinkled their noses. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Zeref said, smirking. Mavis rolled her eyes and sighed.  
"Well, I think we have more of a shot if we actually work together." Mavis told him, her spear shooting golden beams of light at Acnologia.

"Yeah well, I don't know. Are you able to handle it? I mean, you look a little worse-for-ware." Zeref said, not really concerned, but wanting to bash her fighting abilities without being impolite. Mavis glared at him.

"I'm just fine. You're the one who's deathly terrified of him." Mavis growled, shaking her free fist at him. Zeref's smirk widened and he shrugged.

"If you say so." He said and dodged another attack. "Alright, fine, but I'm not sure how to combine our powers." Zeref said concernedly. He didn't know what would happen, if it was possible, and how much it would hurt.

"I don't know how to either. I don't think it's ever been done before."

"Or if it has nobody lived to tell the tale." Zeref grumbled unhappily. Mavis only glared at him and held out her hand.

"Look, save the sarcasm for after we defeat this guy." Acnologia laughed when she said that.

"Hilarious! You two think you can beat me." Acnologia said sinisterly. "Well, I wouldn't count on it." Then, he started to change, slowly morphing into a dragon. Zeref watched with horrified eyes and slowly started backing up. The dragon was becoming too large for the castle walls and soon, plaster started crumbling down and cracks appeared, traveling along the walls.

"Aw, c'mon! I live here, ya know!" Gray whined. Zeref gulped and slowly took Mavis's hand. Grabbing it sent warm shivers down his spine.

"I guess… maybe we just focus on wanting to intertwine our powers." Mavis said quietly. "That's how all my magic works." Zeref nodded slowly.

"Alright." So Zeref closed his eyes and concentrated on intertwining their powers. He felt her magic wash over him warmly, but possessively. Zeref had to concentrate on not letting it drown him.

"Your power's so cold." Mavis whispered, her eyebrows furrowing. Zeref bit his lip, not willing to tell her that her magic felt warm.

"Aw, cute, you're trying to unison raid me! Well guess what, with magic so opposite you'll be ripped apart before you can pull it off!" Acnologia growled, half human, half dragon.

"He's right, your magic… if I don't focus it suffocates me." Zeref said, feeling strained. Mavis nodded and squeezed his hand.

"Then we just have to focus, don't we?" she said. Zeref hoped it was that simple.

"Hurry! He's almost completely transformed!" Gray cried.

Both Mavis and Zeref were trying hard to get their magic as powerful as they could. "Are you ready?" Mavis whispered.

"Yeah." Zeref said, opening his eyes. Zeref thrust his dagger forward at the same time Mavis did hers. Her magic felt so nice, Zeref wanted to let it drown him, but he remained awake. He couldn't let that happen.

"UNISON RAID!" They both screamed. Light and darkness exploded and swirled together, creating shades of grey. Zeref felt almost like his very soul was being ripped from his body. This was so painful that he could barely breathe.

Zeref held strong until suddenly, to his horror, Acnologia started to swallow their attack, even one so powerful. "You seem to forget, boy. Magic doesn't work on me." His father said, smirking.

Zeref stumbled backward and cried out. He couldn't believe their attack, that left him completely drained Acnologia had eaten like it was nothing. In fact, Zeref felt Acnologia's power level's spike! Zeref felt weak in the knees like he was about to faint, so he grabbed Mavis and leaned on her slightly for a little more support. She seemed to be doing the same to him. "Now, I shall kill you!" Acnologia said. Zeref felt Acnologia start to gather magical power from the air around him.

"WAIT!" Zeref cried. Acnologia paused, staring at him wide-eyed with that lizard stare. "You… you don't want to kill us." Zeref panted. Acnologia smirked.

"And why ever not?"

"My troops… are loyal… to me." Zeref panted. "They will never bow to you. They would rather die."

"It's the same with my angels. If you kill us, then they will die rather than follow you." Mavis told him, playing along with what Zeref was saying.

"And then, you're left without a strong army and a full-blown war. You dragons are strong, but you will lose far too many soldiers that way. Besides, what's the point in ruling a kingdom if there's no one to rule over? That's rather boring." Zeref said. "However, if you let us live, then we will order our troops to stand down. Order them to do whatever you tell us. They will be your orders, but they will come out of our mouths, thus, our soldiers will obey them, as they come from their ruler." Zeref said, hoping this worked, because if it didn't then Zeref was as good as dead to this world. Zeref had no intention on following through on any of these promises, however, this would give them time to think on what their next move would be. If they were still alive, Acnologia could be defeated. And he would be defeated, he promised himself that.

Before Zeref could hear Acnologia's response to his reasoning Zeref fainted on top of Mavis, who presumably fainted also, because her body completely gave out under the extra weight.

* * *

 **A/N So, what did you guys think? I'm getting excited for this! Do you guys want me to update again later today, because this was kind of a short chapter. Not even 3,000 words and I did leave off at kind of a cliff hanger. If you want an update later please tell me! Otherwise, I'll update again next week. I'd say Friday, but I've been updating on Thursday so... we'll see. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it, reviews/follows/favorites are always welcome. See you soon, bye! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Thank you all who have followed/favorited this story. Thank you to my reviewers KYAAAA and . . All of your guys' support is appreciated! :)**

* * *

Acnologia stood, amusement written across his face as the two leaders of angels and demons simply fainted.

As that happened four children walked into the room. "Uh, king Acnologia, the angel empress got into the castle and now she… oh, I guess you found her." Gajeel said, unimpressed. "So, are you going to kill them now?"

"… No, they can still prove useful." Acnologia said. "Take those two to the dungeon and do it right this time." Acnologia said, slowly transforming back into human form. The children walked forward, not happy, but not brave enough to disobey their master.

"No! You leave my nii-chan and his weird girlfriend alone!" a pink-haired boy cried, running out from behind the corner. They all assumed he had been watching the entire time.

"I second that!" Gray growled, standing by Natsu's side. This would be the end of them probably, but hopefully when Gray died, he went to heaven. He couldn't stand another moment in this wretched place. Acnologia rolled his eyes and turned back, walking in the direction of the throne room.

"I assume that you can take out these pests?" the four children nodded and got into fighting positions.

"Alright Gray stay back. I can handle these fools!" Natsu growled, lighting his fists on fire.

"No way! I can fight too, so I'm not letting you steal the spot light." Natsu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I didn't know you knew how to fight." Natsu said. "Why didn't you tell me!" he whined. "I mean, I'm your best friend!"  
"You're my only friend." Gray corrected. "And if I had a choice, I would choose a human friend over you." Gray said. Natsu looked shocked and then hurt.

"How come?"

"I never asked to be here!" Gray snarled. "I don't like it here! I mean, why would I? I don't have a mom, or a dad. My only friend is a demon child! I don't know how to do math, and I don't know grammar and I'm horrible at spelling, and I can barely read! But I can tell you which detergent is best to use on sheets! Does that sound like the kind of life you want!" Natsu was silent, still looking hurt. "I didn't think so!" Gray growled and created ice daggers and hurled them at the dragon children.

"Gray… I'm sorry you don't like it here, but it's not my fault! And it could be worse! You could be dead!" Natsu cried, also shooting fireballs at the same time so that the dragon children couldn't get any closer.

"I don't know which I'd rather. A sorry existence, or no existence at all." Gray grumbled.

"Look," Natsu sighed. "Can we talk about this later?" He asked. Gray was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, let's get to work and destroy these dragons!" Gray said with a smirk. Natsu returned that smirk and then they both started fighting for real, but the dragon children looked like they were about to get serious too.

"I'll take Metal Head and Goth! You get Tiny and Blondie!" Natsu cried. Gray nodded and they both took on two.

"Alright, listen up, freaks!" Gray growled. "You may have stupid, fancy, whatever you call it! But my ice can make anything! And you can't eat it, unless you're alright with getting hurt!"

"Would you shut up!" Sting growled.

"I don't want to fight anybody." Wendy whispered meekly. Sting rolled his eyes and took a fighting position.

"It doesn't matter… we have to." He said and charged. Gray barely dodged out of the way and fired ice bolts at Sting. The guy growled and screamed, "Holy dragon's… roar!" Gray's ice bolts shattered immediately, and Gray was rocketed backward from the blast. He skidded across the tiled floor and slammed against the wall, knocking the breath out of his lungs. Gray couldn't breathe and just lay there, motionless, gasping for breath that refused to entire his lungs. It was a terrifying feeling. "Well, look at that. Defeated already. I suppose you're only human, after all." Sting kicked him in the stomach leaving Gray to double over. He needed to BREATHE!

"Hey, stop that! You've beaten him." Wendy said in a reprimanding tone. Sting rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever."

Meanwhile, across the room Natsu was not fairing very well. Only lasting a little longer than Gray. Individually Natsu could take them on no problem, but together Natsu found he was like a personal punching bag. Natsu tried to block Rogue's quick attacks and dodge Gajeel's heavy blows. But Natsu couldn't keep up. He screamed as Gajeel's iron dragon's roar hit him square in the chest. He slammed into the floor, gasping and struggling to get on his feet. He had to save his nii-chan.

"Well, look at that. I guess he was all bark and no bite." Gajeel said, grinning creepily. "What do we do with 'em anyway?" he asked, pressing his foot on Natsu's stomach. Natsu struggled to get up, but he felt so weak. He had smacked his head down on the floor with a sickening thud and now Natsu was fighting to stay conscious.

"You…" he wheezed, "Won't get away with this!"

"Oh, we will." Gajeel said smirking. "And we already have." Natsu panted and struggled a bit more, not willing to go down without a good fight.

It seemed to Natsu that he blinked, but he must've been out for a while because now there were five other people in the room talking to the children. Everything was fuzzy and Natsu couldn't make out anything they were saying. But he did see a man, who was carrying a small figure that looked like Gray, walk over to him. He could see red hair and maybe black eyes, but Natsu couldn't be sure. The man wrapped an arm around his middle and hoisted him up and over his shoulder.

Natsu blinked again and everything was much clearer when he opened his eyes a second time. He was groggy, but he could hear everything clearly and nothing was fuzzy anymore. "Hello?" he asked, his voice cracking. Natsu swallowed a few times to try and get rid of the dryness in his throat.

"Hello." Natsu was a little surprised when a voice answered him. He was the man Natsu remembered from earlier. The one that had been carrying him.

"Where's… Gray?" Natsu asked, trying to wake his mind up. C'mon mind! He had to save nii-chan!

"Gray? You mean the human fellow with black hair, blue eyes, nasty temper?"  
"That's the one." Natsu said tiredly. He heard faint screams in the background and Natsu tried to hear them. "What are you doing to him?" Natsu asked.

"Nothing," the red-haired mans said, lifting his hands up in the universal surrender position, though Natsu's voice hadn't been accusing. "He just won't settle down, so we had to give him some pills to knock him out. Well, the pills wore off about ten minutes ago and ever since then he's been kicking and screaming. The others are trying to calm him down, but it isn't working, and giving him another pill so soon is kind of dangerous. Humans have… fragile bodies, after all."

"Who are you?" Natsu asked, squinting and ignoring everything he just said.

"My name's Igneel, you?"  
"Natsu." Natsu said and slowly sat up, feeling pain everywhere. "Let me talk to him." Natsu said, sliding off the bed. Gray was difficult and an emotional rollercoaster. Those strangers in the room were only going to make him worse.

"Well… Alright." Igneel said, standing up and guiding Natsu into Gray's room. Here, the screaming was a lot louder than it had been, and it made Natsu grimace.

"Now calm down, dear, no one's going to hurt you." He heard the woman in the room say gently.

"Yeah, so shut up before I skin you." A man, looking a lot like Gajeel said. The woman glared at him and punched his shoulder.

"You're the one who needs to shut up!" she hissed. "You aren't helping!" she said, sighed, and then turned back to Gray. Natsu sighed and reached into his pocket before pulling out a cloth and stuffing it in Gray's mouth.

"Shut up, I can't even hear myself think." Natsu complained. Gray stopped screaming when the cloth entered his mouth and was now simply staring at Natsu with wide eyes. Yes, this trick had been invented many moons ago when Gray wouldn't stop screaming bloody murder. He'd been about… four maybe. Zeref had taken a cloth and stuffed it in his mouth, just to stop the screaming. Gray cried and screamed and threw his temper tantrum still, but it was muffled. Natsu, and almost everyone else in the castle carried a cloth around with them now, just in case.

"Now why didn't I think of that." Older metal head grumbled to himself.

"Because I'm smarter." Natsu suggested, although, Natsu wasn't really smarter then anybody. Then, Natsu sighed and looked at Gray. "Alright, you done screaming now?" Gray nodded mutely and Natsu took the cloth out, before stuffing it back in his pocket. "He's not usually like this, he's just insanely furious at everything. He's going through adolescence. Or at least, that's what Zeref says, because I have no idea what that is." The adults looked at each other and shrugged. It's not like they were the ones who were going to explain puberty or give… The Talk. Nope, they already had their own children to worry about. "So, what're you going to do with us anyway?" Natsu asked, kind of curious.

"Yeah." Gray said, glaring at them. He wanted to get out of there, but unfortunately, it's not like he could escape without a plan.

"I don't know, but nothing right now." Igneel said. "Right now, we're all on the same side. You want to defeat the dragon king? Well, so do we. Humans and other beings don't stand a chance against him because they're not physically powerful enough to stop him, so, they rely on magic to defeat him, not realizing that magic doesn't work on him. However, us dragons, who are each as physically powerful as him, can defeat him by ganging up on him a blasting him with physical attacks that actually have and effect." He explained. Natsu thought he understood what Igneel was saying to him.

"So, you're saying that you punch him till he's dead?" Natsu asked.

"To put it simply, yes." The woman said.

"But why do you want to defeat the dragon king?" Gray asked a fair question.

"Why do you think? He's a tyrant and completely destructive! There's no way anyone would survive under his rule! And think of what would happen to the humans! Think about what's already happening to them?" she cried. Gray frowned a little scared to ask his next question.

"Well… what _is_ happening to them?" he asked.

"Half the world's population has been enslaved, child. And they lead much worse lives than you do." the woman told them. Gray was a bit skeptical about that.

"You think?" the woman shook her head.

"I know." She told him. "My name is Grandine, by the way." She finally introduced herself. "And this is Metalicanna, Weissalogia, Skiadrum, and I suppose you're already familiar with Igneel."

"Yeah, and what about tiny you's?" Grandine gave Natsu a confused look. "You know, the kids." Natsu elaborated.

"Oh." She said giving a small laugh. "Well, Wendy's my daughter. Gajeel is Metalicanna's son, Sting is Weissalogia's son, and Rogue is Skiadrum's son. Igneel… well, he hasn't found a child yet."

"I need to find someone who uses fire magic." Igneel said with a sigh. "They also need to be young with an affinity for fire magic! I mean, young children are hard to find. Young children with magic even harder. Young children with a specific kind of magic, nearly impossible!" Igneel cried. "Ah, I'll never find one. I've been searching for years.

"… I'm a young child who has fire magic." Natsu dead-panned. No, he didn't like to refer to himself as a young child, but he also knew that it was true.

"You? But you're a demon, you're supposed to have cursed magic!"

"So, I keep hearing." Natsu grumbled remembering how Zeref had gotten red in the face when Natsu stubbornly refused to learn cursed magic.

"Well… we'll see, maybe you have a place by my side." Igneel said with a small smile. "But first, we need to destroy Acnologia so that our kingdom's don't fall into eternal darkness."

Natsu nodded and asked, "So, what do we do first? I assume you want to undermine Acnologia in some way?"

Igneel nodded. "Yes, but for now we pretend to be loyal." Natsu narrowed his eyes.

"Right… pretend." Natsu said suspiciously, not trusting that it was really pretend. Igneel put his hands up.

"Hey, you're not the only one who has stuff to lose. If we weren't going to go through with this then we wouldn't even be talking about it." Igneel assured Natsu.

Natsu still wasn't convinced that these random group of adults had his best interests at heart, but if they truly all had the same goal then Natsu supposed he'd believe them for now. "Come on! We have to break my brother and his weird girlfriend out of prison!" Natsu cried.

"Well… Natsu, we can't do that right now. First, we have to defeat Acnologia. Then, we can free your brother and… his weird girlfriend." Igneel said. Natsu didn't like that idea, as that meant that his brother could be getting hurt at the moment. Natsu thought his brother was extremely annoying, that didn't, however, mean that he wanted his brother to be in pain.

"What can we do to help?" Gray asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Metalicanna told him. Gray scowled and sat up.

"I don't think so. We want to help, whether you want us to or not!" Gray exclaimed.

"Your help would only hinder the mission's success." Weissalogia told him. Gray nor Natsu seemed to think that way, and they did not agree just because some adult was telling him.

"Natsu, named all the time's that Dumbo has asked me to do something, and it was done to his satisfaction?" Gray asked.

"ZERO, SIR!" Natsu shouted, saluting him.

"That's right. And I find any loophole I can, and Zeref's learned over the years to make his orders very clear and let me tell you," Gray's voice turned to a threatening whisper. "I still find loopholes. You tell me not to get involved with defeating Acnologia? Fine. I will not help you defeat Acnologia in any way."

"… Just so we're clear, you can't help him win either." Igneel said. Gray rolled his eyes.

"Well, of course not! I'm not a fool, nor am I an idiot! Believe me, I could simply ignore your orders but no, I'm not going to outright defy you. But know this, it's never what you tell me… it's what you don't." Gray said, sliding off the bed. "C'mon Natsu, let's go." Natsu nodded and marched out after Gray, turning around only once o stick his tongue defiantly out at the group of adults. Igneel rolled his eyes and said,

"Real mature."

"I know." Natsu said, smirking, and skipping off behind Gray.

Once the two boys were well out of earshot, even by dragon standards, Natsu asked, "So, how're you going to undermine him?"

"It's so obvious, it's painful." Gray said. "I'm going to keep my promise. I'm not going to help defeat Acnologia, but I never said that I wouldn't try to break Zeref and Mavis out of prison." Natsu thought about it and didn't think he'd come up with something like that. Then again, he wouldn't ever come up with anything.

"Alright… I get it." Natsu said.

"Good, because I spelled it out for you." Gray said.

"Right… So, to break nii-chan and his weird girlfriend out of jail, what are we going to do." Gray sighed and glanced at him.

"Please tell me I don't have to spell this out for you too!"  
"… You don't have to spell this out for me too?" Natsu asked more than answered. After all, he didn't know what Gray was planning so, Natsu couldn't exactly answer that question… was it a question?

Gray ran a hand through his hair and said, "Look, it's pretty simple, alright. I mean, I'm pretty smart for not having any books, but I'm still only ten, alright. Now, who do you think's guarding the cells?" Gray asked.

Natsu shrugged. "Exactly! We have no idea! So, we're going to have to find out. Once we do that, we can formulate the most effective way to get him to either leave, or, if he's weak, knock him out."

"What if there's no guard?"

"Even better." Gray said. "But Natsu, this is a stealth mission, alright? That means we have to be quiet." Gray told him, very slowly, like he was talking to a toddler. Natsu nodded quickly in understanding. "Okay, that means no talking, no screaming, no jumping, no fighting, no fire, and most importantly… no… eating."

"No eating?" Natsu asked, frowning. Gray shook his head. "Not even a little snack?"

"NO!" Natsu blinked and then nodded.

"Alright!" he agreed readily.

"Okay, now follow me." Gray said.

So, they walked down several hallways, making sure not to get lost in the tunnels and keep in mind what rotation it was and which pathways they were taking. Plus, this wasn't the first time Gray had visited the dungeons. In fact, he was there almost as much as a regular prisoner. Dungeon time where Gray was hung upside down was the equivalent to human timeouts.

It was an uncomfortable feeling, as all the blood rushed to his head and Gray often got dizzy. Especially when Zeref was feeling particularly sadistic and swung the rope back and forth. That made Gray feel like he was going to puke. "Are we almost there?" Natsu whined. Natsu didn't make frequent trips down to the dungeons because Zeref liked him better… and Natsu would probably look at it like it was a game… completely stupid.

"Yes, I think so." Gray said, looking around for indications that he was going the right way. Things that wouldn't alert random people who decided to storm the castle, but someone who had spent years in the palace would notice like second nature. Little cracks and holes scattered about. Most people would see them as random problems with the castle's architecture, and some of it was. But most of it was deliberate marks made to help those that did get lost in the tunnels find their way again.

Soon, they both found the stairwell that led down to the dungeons.

Down in the deeper parts of the castle stone rested and ivy grew. The prison wasn't taken care of by any servants ever because most of the prisoners were either executed, tortured to death, or died of starvation. Besides, Zeref wasn't the type of person to go out of his way to make things clean for the traitors of the kingdom. "Hey, Gray, why are you even attempting to rescue nii-chan and his weird girlfriend? I mean, I'm doing it because he's my nii-chan and his weird girlfriend is part of the package. But I thought you didn't like Zeref? So, why are you helping?"

"Well, it's not like I despise him. I mean, he's the only thing even close to a parent that I've got. So… I suppose that counts for something."

"But you guys… you never hug and stuff. Not like me and nii-chan do."

Gray shrugged. "We don't have that type of cuddly, flowery relationship like he has with you. It's a little something called tough love, and you wouldn't know it if it came up and bit you. Dumbo babies you, you know, no matter how much he tells you to do it by yourself." Natsu frowned. It was true that Zeref told him to do things himself, but at this point, it was more of a formality than anything else. "You know, there was only one time where he hugged me like he hugs you." Natsu raised an eyebrow, not remembering that event, which was odd, since Gray was his best friend and they were almost always together… when Natsu wasn't busy getting captured.

"I don't remember that." Natsu said.

"That's because you weren't there, genius." Gray said. "I was… I don't know how old, but pretty young. Stupid as hell too. I don't even remember what was going through my mind at the time, but I remember that I had the bright idea to stand on top of a sharp rock and dance around. Well, like you would expect, I slipped. My back hit the jagged edge of the rock and sliced it open. I'm just lucky my head was tilted forward or that's what would've been what sliced open. I fell to the ground, obviously and yeah, it hurt but I just remember being numb. I didn't start crying until I saw the blood and there was a lot of it."

"I honestly thought I was dying for a little while, but then, it seemed like Zeref came out of absolutely nowhere. I remember he looked like a superhero to me."

"You read superhero comics?"

"Shut up, they're good. Anyway, I remember he scooped me up, yelled at me, yelled at anyone else standing nearby and then took me to Porlyusica. Yeah, I had to have stitches and I only remember screaming bloody murder. It didn't hurt or anything, but I remember seeing that needle and knowing that I'd rather die than have that thing enter my body. Zeref watched it happen and he looked… I don't know how to describe it, but his face was stony, staring at that wound on my back."

"When it was all over, he put me on his knee, yelled at me, told me to never do anything so stupid ever again. He then, hugged me so tight I could barely breathe and for a moment, I could pretend that I had a dad. Then he whispered for me to be strong only… I don't think he was talking to me." Gray said, frowning. "That's the only time I can remember him doing that. Anyway, what matters is that he sucks at being my only parental-figure and I hate him for being so horrible, but he's all I got. And I'm not going to let some stupid dragon take anything I have left from me."

Natsu was silent or a while before nodding. "Alright." He whispered quietly. "I guess I can relate to that… Then let's set him free."

* * *

 **A/N Here's another chapter. I hope you liked it. This chapter probably could've been skipped but who wouldn't want to read about Natsu and Gray? Anyway, I might update this again on Sunday, but we'll see. So, thanks for reading reviews/favorites/follows are always welcome. Bye!**


	10. Chapter 10

Mavis slowly awoke and when she opened her eyes, she realized she was cold, and her entire body hurt. She also felt something next to her, that something was warm. A little too warm for her taste since she was right next to the heat source. Mavis finally opened her eyes and saw Zeref, in her personal space.

She blinked and then sighed. Somebody obviously thought positioning them like this would be funny. Mavis had one hand on the back of Zeref's head, his face was buried in the crook of her neck. Her other arm snaked around his waist and her face touched his head. To be honest it could've been worse, but still, this was extremely uncomfortable. Their legs were tangled together and Zeref had his arms wrapped around her, his hands on her head. "Um… Zeref…" Mavis said quietly and shook him. Instead of waking up Zeref rolled over and pulled her to his chest. Mavis blushed and laid there for a moment, simply to think about what she was feeling when waking up next to him. She found that it wasn't as bad as she would've thought. In fact, he was rather warm and… when he didn't look like he wanted to murder her, maybe even cute… Mavis blinked and then quickly sat up and pushed Zeref back. "G-get off me!" Mavis cried and then scrambled backward, only to find that she and Zeref were cuffed together. "I can't believe this…" Mavis grumbled, trying to push Zeref off and get some personal space back. Whoever did this to her was going to die when she got her hands on him.

After all her yelling Zeref slowly opened his eyes and sat up. "What?" he grumbled, blinking sleep from his eyes. Mavis licked her lips and forced any embarrassment she might've had, down, and let a smirk glide easily over her face.

"Well good morning, sleeping beauty." Mavis said. "Not a morning person?" Zeref scowled at her and ran his fingers through his hair a few times, which actually messed it up more than to help tame it, then he said,

"No, I'm not." Zeref said.

"I can tell." Mavis said, smirking. Zeref sneered and sighed, leaning back.

"Why're we cuffed together?" he asked, closing his eyes. Mavis shrugged,

"I don't know, but I think someone thought it would be funny if we were cuffed together considering we're bitter enemies." Zeref snorted.

"Thrown into a situation where we have to interact even though we're enemies? Imagine that, it's almost like we're characters out of some sappy romance novel." Zeref said. Mavis smirked again and said,

"Well, wouldn't you just love that?" Zeref's eyes snapped open and he stared at her angrily, although it was more of a formality than true anger. "Admit it, you aren't as demonic and heartless as you want everyone to believe. I can tell you care for those two boys. Your Natsu and Gray, and if you can love those brats then… well, you're not so heartless after all." Mavis told him.

"Well, they may be brats, but I've known Natsu all my life and Gray since he was 5 months. When I watch them grow up, I'd hope that I love them. But… after all this time, I… I regret taking Gray in." Zeref said sadly. Mavis frowned,

"Why?" Mavis wondered. Didn't he just say that he loved them? Zeref sighed and said,

"It's not because I dislike him or anything it's just… well, I do dislike him, but I love him at the same time. Anyway, I regret taking him in, because I regret having to take him in. I mean, I… I killed his parents. And because I love him, it hurts to live knowing that I hurt him, knowing that the only reason he's here is because of me. And I wonder if I should've left him to die. Because if I'd left him to die, I wouldn't be feeling so guilty but, just wondering if I should've left him to die makes me feel guilty."

"Well… what'd you tell him?"

"I told him I found him in an alley and was feeling merciful." Mavis gave a short, humorless laugh.

"That's truly diabolical. How could you lie to him about something so important? Weren't you just going on about how your father lied to you? How is this any better!"

"I know… that's why I planned to tell him after all this, but we lost, so I never got the chance to tell him, and now… I might never get that chance." Zeref said quietly. Mavis bit her lip and peered up at him through her eyelashes.

"Are you going… If or when we get out of here do you still plan on telling him?" Mavis asked, frowning. Zeref shook his head.

"I don't know anymore. I don't want to ruin everything." Zeref felt as if he was the cause of everything bad that was happening at the moment.

"The only way you could possibly ruin it, is if you don't tell him. He's going to mad, and he's a kid so he won't understand how hard it is to admit something you don't want to admit. But he won't stay mad forever."

"How can he not! I killed his parents! He has every right to hate me forever."

Mavis regretted everything about this conversation because now she felt like she was playing councilor even though she had no experience doing such things, and on the rare occasion she did decide to help with emotional problems, she only helped her friends. She sighed and said, "Listen, Gray's gonna be mad. You killed his parents and kept it from him. But the reason he will be angry, it's not because you killed his parents." Zeref stared at her blankly. "Don't you get it? Gray wants to get to know his parents, and live a normal life, right?" Zeref nodded. "But he doesn't. It's only what he says because it's supposed to be what he wants. Gray might've liked his parents, wanted to meet them, but he doesn't know them, not even their names. And despite being the one's that gave birth to him, he doesn't love them. You can't love somebody that you never met. But he loves you, trusts you, and he wants to be like you. So, the only reason he's going to be mad, isn't because you killed his parents, not really. It's going to be because you lied about it."

Zeref wasn't so sure about that. Who wouldn't be angry that you killed the only parents you ever had? This was the empress he was talking to, and she'd never liked him. She was probably just giving him some false hope anyway. "Yeah… alright, whatever." Zeref mumbled, not truly believing it.  
"Just you wait. You'll see." Mavis said. "And when I'm right you have to admit it."

"… Fine, but when you're wrong, you have to admit it." Zeref said. Mavis shrugged and nodded.

"Fine." Mavis said, crossing her arms. "Even though I'm right."

"We'll see." Zeref said doubtfully. Mavis stood up and turned to him.  
"Well, since we're speaking and such, I would like to search your memories." Mavis said.

"Why?" Zeref asked, startled by the abrupt change in subject, and not really understanding. What would be the point in looking through his memories other than curiosity?  
"Well, I can't deny I'm curious, but I also want to see if I can find some memories that will help us defeat Acnologia." Mavis told him. Zeref furrowed his eyebrows,

"You want to… see inside my memories?" Zeref asked. "The memories about… my father?"

Mavis nodded in confirmation. "No." Zeref said, shaking his head. "No, I don't want to."

"Why not? It might help us win or escape or something." She insisted.

"I don't care." Zeref said flatly, shaking his head. No one could know about what happened down in that dungeon. In this dungeon. Zeref's eyes wandered to the shackles hanging from the wall just a few inches above his head, he shivered. Zeref had never told anyone what happened down here. He'd never told his mother, he'd never told his friends, or his teachers, or his guards, or Porlyusica, or even his brother. No one but he and his father knew. Not anyone else, and never would anyone else. Zeref was content with knowing that the only thing that anyone had to go off of were his screams. Zeref didn't want them knowing anything else.

"It couldn't have been too bad." Mavis said softly, her eyes glittering with sympathy. Zeref gritted his teeth and shook his head.

"You weren't there." He said. "You know nothing, and that's how I want it to stay."

Mavis didn't know what she could say to convince him. He was obviously adamant about not letting anyone know about what happened between him in his father. Mavis could simply ignore his wishes and look into his memories anyway, however Mavis didn't want to resort to that. Especially when he would probably kill her after she was done. The worst part was she wouldn't blame him. Mavis licked her lips and said, "If you allow me to see the memories of you and your father, then I shall allow you to look into my memories as well." Mavis said. "A memory that no one else has seen, and a memory that I detest."

Zeref paused, seeming to think about it before saying, "And how do I know you're not lying?" Mavis laughed lightly,

"When have I ever lied to you?" Zeref did not reply but looked unimpressed regardless.

"I guess you never have… alright, fine but I have a question. Do… do I see the memories too?"

"Yes, you do, but we won't be experiencing the memory together, unless you want to. Generally, it's better to experience any memory, separately. Why? Do you have a preference?"

"Well… my preference would be to not see the memories at all but… since I have to, I would like to experience it together… if it's okay with you, that is."

Mavis blinked, surprised by what he wanted. She would like to ask him if he could explain his reasoning, but she didn't, because deep inside she already knew. Zeref didn't want to be alone with the most terrifying moment of his life. She knew, because that's what she would want. So, Mavis didn't ask any questions and nodded. "Yes, that's perfectly fine." she said and gently placed her fingertips on his temple. Zeref squeezed his eyes shut, his fingers digging into his legs. Mavis closed her eyes as well and mumbled quietly, "Angel memories." Mavis felt the power rise up within her and burst, before returning to a quiet hum in the back of her mind. Mavis bit her lip and hoped that what she saw when she opened her eyes was not as bad as what she thought.

* * *

 **Warning: This break contains torture. It is not necessary and can be skipped. If you are not comfortable, keep reading at the end of this break. Otherwise, please enjoy!**

* * *

Mavis opened her eyes and found she was in a dark room. She recognized this place to be hell's dungeons. She didn't think this was where she would find herself, but she didn't care. Mavis glanced to the right and saw that Zeref was beside her, his eyes still screwed shut. "We're here, you can open your eyes now." Mavis said. Zeref shook his head and remained still.

"No, I won't." he whispered. Mavis disliked that he was being difficult but ignored it and turned her attention to the front of the room. The cell in front of her was not empty as she had once thought, for inside she could hear ragged breathing. Mavis walked forward, leaving Zeref to scrunch his eyes shut, and into the cell. A torch lit the jail, so she could dimly see a boy, a young boy, hanging from his wrists. Cold, iron shackles clamped around each pale wrist, and just underneath Mavis could make out purple bruises from how long he'd been cuffed there. Her eyes traveled downward, and she blushed slightly, realizing he was naked and quickly traveled back up. What she had seen though, horrified her. Bruises, and cuts ran the full length of his body, small stab wounds in multiple places. The boy hung limp, and he was so skinny that Mavis could see his bones sticking out sharply under his ghostly skin.

Behind her, Mavis heard the cell door open and turned slightly to watch Acnologia walk in. He was definitely younger, but his muscles were still as defined as ever. "Hello, boy." He said his voice filled with a controlled animosity that made sent shivers up Mavis's spine.

The boy looked up and Mavis could now tell that this was Zeref. She'd had her predictions but now she could tell, with undying certainty, that this was indeed the demon lord. But even though it was definitely his features, Mavis still had a hard time believing it was really him. The Zeref she knew was so terrifying and strong. Here, he looked like a boy. A terrified boy.

Zeref's eyes were filled with terror and he struggled slightly but seemed pretty resigned to his fate. "No, father, I'm sorry!" Zeref cried and struggled.

Mavis watched as Acnologia uncoiled a whip from the corner of the room and it unwrapped to the floor and she saw how Zeref shrunk back from it. Mavis wished she could close her eyes and run back and get out of this memory, but she was intrigued. She couldn't tear her eyes away. She was almost mesmerized by the shimmer of the cold, long whip. Acnologia walked up, gently placing a hand on Zeref's face, wiping away tears that Acnologia no doubt saw as weakness.

The first crack made Mavis jump, as it was fast and unexpected. Screams followed shortly after. "Oh, I'm sure you are, son. But you see… I don't care." He said finally. The next crack made Mavis cringe and now, with the spell broken Mavis wanted nothing more than to run away. She was fairly sure she wasn't the only one.

"Please!" Zeref sobbed and struggled, screaming. Acnologia paced the floor and swished the whip back and forth a few times.

He scoffed, "Please? I bet you get that neediness from your mother." Acnologia said with obvious distaste.

"I'll- I'll never do it again! I promise! I'll never ask for anything ever again!" he screamed. Mavis could feel tears coming to her eyes as the whip cracked down again and again. Blood was everywhere, screams rattled her bones. She couldn't help but think that he must be so terrified. He couldn't be older than thirteen or fourteen. Mavis hated to see this. Ragged breaths filled the air and Acnologia was only smiling. How could he smile? "I can see this lesson is getting through to you." He said. Was torturing a small child who couldn't defend himself really that amusing? Any respect she'd had for this man and his unbelievable power died instantly. Mavis knew that Acnologia hadn't been a good father. She knew ever since she'd seen her mother's memories that Zeref had been abused early in his life. But she had thought that his father might only be beating him. That was still horrible, but it paled in comparison to what she was seeing.

Sobs and whimpers and pleas filled the once silent room. Nothing answered them. When Acnologia had given more than fifteen lashes she knew that she couldn't watch anymore. It was too horrifying. But at that moment, the lashes stopped and Acnologia sliced the chains open. He wrapped an arm around Zeref's waist and held him, walking up the stone steps, out of the prison, Zeref still screaming and sobbing.

* * *

 **End of torture scene, but they're still in the memory. Read on from here.**

* * *

Mavis knew she had to leave this memory.

Plus, right now, young Zeref wasn't the only Zeref screaming any longer. Mavis might've gone over there to try and comfort him or something, only she didn't think it'd be a good idea to touch him right now. It probably wouldn't help anything, and he might rip her arm off. Mavis wasn't willing to take chances.

She wanted to see a different memory now anyway. She couldn't take the blood and the screams any longer. So, she closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted to see. She wanted to see what happened after this.

And when she opened her eyes again, she was standing in a room. Not the dungeon, thankfully. Zeref stood in the middle, whip marks running down his skin. They were fresh and still bleeding. On the far side of the room sat a woman, she had golden hair and brown eyes. Mavis gasped as she recognized Anna.

She hadn't thought what Zeref had said about his mother was true. But with this memory… it might be more probable. "Mommy." Zeref whispered, coming over to her. The woman looked up after only a few moments and when her eyes landed on Zeref her smile instantly vanished.

"Zeref…" she said slowly, her face pale. Mavis could tell she was hesitant to ask what she needed to, "What happened." She asked cautiously. Zeref stared at her for a few moments longer before bursting into tears. Anna shot to her feet and quickly ran over. "We have to get you to Porlyusica, right now." She said, her eyes glazed over with tears and her face clouded over with fear and guilt. "Come on, let's walk." Anna said, gently guiding Zeref out of the room, trying to touch somewhere that wasn't covered with injuries.

When Zeref and Anna finally reached Porlyusica's office, Mavis trailing behind, Anna didn't even bother to knock. "PORLYUSICA!" Anna's voice was frantic, filled with fear and panic. "PORLYUSCA! I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW!" silent tears slid down Zeref's face as Anna kept shouting for Porlyusica.

Finally, the woman came down, but her scowl faded quickly when her eyes landed on her knew patient. "Oh my…"

"Help him, help him please!" Porlyusica quickly descended the rest of the steps to her main office. She'd come from her bedroom upstairs, as it was rather late.

"You needn't even ask." Porlyusica said. "Come on, Zeref." Porlyusica said.

She cleaned the wounds and bandaged them quickly, getting Zeref some painkillers that made him drowsy. Some cuts she'd had to stitch the skin back together it was so deep and wide. "What happened?" Porlyusica asked.

Anna stared at the floor, in her eyes brewed a storm. "You know what happened." She whispered, her voice shaking from rage. "You know _he_ did this!" she hissed and started cursing. "My son…" she cried and turned to Zeref, her face sad and angry.

"What are you going to do about it? You can't let this keep happening. Demons are tough, but Zeref's getting lucky. If this keeps happening, he will die." Porlyusica said.

"I know." Anna whispered. She licked her lips her eyes burning with rage. "I can't let this keep happening to him. Zeref's already scarred for life, he already went through it. I can't let that happen to Natsu. I can't." Anna shook her head and turned around. Staring at her son she said, "I will never let you go through that ever again." Anna then, gently cupped Zeref's face and kissed his forehead. "I love you." She whispered and stood. "That's why I'm going to kill my husband!" she seethed.

"Anna, I don't think that's a good idea." Porlyusica said, frowning.

"Mommy, I don't want you to get hurt." Zeref said quietly. Anna frowned and turned to him,

"Then, how do you think I feel about you getting hurt, dear? I'm your mommy, it's my job to make sure you're safe." Anna told him sternly. Zeref didn't say anything and stared blankly at his mother before slumping back down on to the bed, careful of his wounds.

Anna then turned to Porlyusica and said, "Please look after him… both of them." she said. Mavis heard the hidden meaning in those words. Anna didn't mean just today. Even Anna didn't believe she was coming back from this confrontation. She was asking Porlyusica to look after Zeref and Natsu until they didn't need it anymore.

Porlyusica didn't answer for a long time, simply staring at her dear friend. "Alright." She said finally. "I will look after them."

Anna smiled at Porlyusica, a beautiful, perfect smile. "Thank you." She glanced in Zeref's direction one last time, before turning and walking out of the room. Porlyusica turned to Zeref then,

"Alright, let's get you a blanket. You should spend the night here, in the infirmary." Zeref didn't argue with her and Mavis watched Porlyusica walk out of the room. As soon as the door swung shut behind her Zeref slid off the bed and ran out the front door. Mavis followed him as he trailed behind his mother. She could see Zeref looked tired, like he wanted to fall asleep at any minute, but he remained awake, too alert to fall asleep. Mavis didn't even know what he was trying to do. What was the point of following his mother to her death?

"Where's mom going?" Zeref wondered aloud as he crouched behind a wall. Zeref didn't move for several seconds until Anna turned the corner before quickly, but silently moving after her.

Zeref followed her through twists and turns of the hallway, the walls moving and neither Zeref nor Anna seemed to bat an eyelash. Neither of them was shocked. In fact, Mavis would've guessed they'd be more shocked if the walls didn't move. But then again, they'd lived here for a while. This was probably the norm.

Zeref kept trailing behind Anna until she turned into what Mavis recognized as the throne room. She could never have mistaken it. The door was large with blood-red swirls flowing across the front. Anna went in and after a few moments Zeref quickly but silently ran up to the door and pressed his ear to it, listening and peering through the crack in the door.

Anna walked toward the throne where Acnologia sat, looking rather happy. His expression made Mavis feel sick to her stomach. How could he have that expression after torturing his own son? "Husband." Anna said, though that word that should've been said lovingly came out cold and detached. Acnologia's eyes met Anna's, twinkling with amusement.

"Yes? Is their something wrong, _wife_?" Acnologia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you tell me where my son got his injuries?" Anna asked. Acnologia didn't even hesitate to answer.

"Well, I gave them to him."

"Why? How could you do that to your eldest son?" Anna asked.

"Why is the sky blue? Why do we get burned when touching fire? Why must you ask such stupid questions?"

"What is wrong with you! Our son is half-dead in the infirmary right now! You go too far! WAY. TOO. FAR!" she cried.

"Okay, then tell me, what should I do?"

"Oh, I don't know? Maybe you should try telling him not to do it again!"

"But then how will he learn? Actions have consequences."

"Then send him to his room! Yell, ground, express your disappointment through WORDS! You do not, however, beat him until he's screaming! It is unacceptable, and I can not let you do this anymore! I indulged you for a while! I let you give him the bruises, but this is where I draw the line and I cannot take it anymore! I am taking Natsu and I am taking Zeref, and we are all leaving!"

"And going where?"

"I don't care, but I'd rather be anywhere but here!" Anna screamed before turning around. "Oh, and do not call me!"

Then she started walking out of the room. "No." Acnologia said. Anna froze, and she turned to him, her eyes flashing murderously.

"What did you say to me?" she asked.

"I said no. I will not allow you to leave. You will all stay right here."

"Why? Why do you "care"." Anna asked

"I care because all of you, especially you, belong to me. And you will not leave unless I say so. And I don't say so, so you stay." Acnologia said. Anna scowled and backed up still, but a little slower. "I will never let you leave, unless I feel that I want you to go." Acnologia said.

"No… I'm leaving! And I'm taking the kids with me!"

Acnologia shook his head in fake sadness, clucking his tongue in disappointment. "Well then, know that as this happens it was your own stubbornness that made it happen."

"That is false!" Anna cried. "You don't have to do anything! You're an obsessive control freak, and it's your stubbornness that's making this happen right now!" Anna growled, but Acnologia didn't even seem to be listening to her anymore.

"This is how it happened." Mavis jumped as she heard a voice right next to her. Mavis turned to look at Zeref, frowning. She'd forgotten he was even there. "This is how we lost all our memories." Mavis frowned and nodded.

"I see, so that's how this craziness began. That's interesting." Mavis said quietly.

Acnologia raised his hands as if getting ready to cast a spell and he muttered some magic words under his breath. Anna looked at him with wide eyes, knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop whatever Acnologia was planning. "Wait, stop! You don't know what you're doing! Why don't you just calm down and really think about what you're about to do!" But again, Acnologia wasn't listening and carried on with what he had been doing. "Stop!" Anna screamed as Acnologia finished his spell. Throughout the entire castle a shock wave pulsed through the air. At that time young Zeref fell over backwards and sat there, on the ground for several moments.

"What was I doing?" He wondered quietly. Just as Zeref said that Acnologia said,

"Guards! I've caught a rogue fallen angel hiding out in our castle!" Quickly the guards came running and immediately apprehended Anna.

"What do you want us to do?" one guard asked.

"Take her to the west wing. And make a barrier as well. I want the best demons with rune magic on the job, alright?" Acnologia said sternly. The guards nodded and dragged Anna away whilst she was screaming that she was the queen and that this was all a big misunderstanding.

Zeref only wondered who that strange lady who was getting dragged away was. "Father, who was that woman?"

"Just some crazy old loon. Nothing." Acnologia answered before everything was silent for several seconds.

Then, Acnologia turned and shot a glare at Zeref. "Get lost you little twerp." He grumbled unhappily, flicking his son's forehead. Zeref froze for a split second before running off.

Once he emerged from the room, he closed the door quickly but quietly and let out a sigh of relief, letting his shoulders relax hesitantly. Then, he started to walk back to the infirmary, presumably to get the rest of him healed.

Mavis didn't think there was much else to see in the memory, so she turned to Zeref who stood next to her, blank-faced, and asked, "So, are you ready to leave?" he nodded mutely, and Mavis pulled the two of them out. When she opened her eyes again, they were back in the cell, handcuffed together. She knew they had only been gone about a minute or two, but she felt as if she'd been gone a life-time. She always felt that way once she came out of the memory. She was drained from using so much magic, but she thought she could pull one more spell off, if it was quick. "Do you still want to see my memory?" Mavis asked, unsure of how mentally stable the demon lord was at the moment. Zeref turned to her his eyes glassy, but he nodded firmly and spoke for the second time since they'd entered that memory,

"Yes." He said. Apparently, he figured that even though he doubtfully wanted to see her memory, he thought that she had tortured him in her own way, so he saw fit to return the favor.

Mavis licked her lips, regretting the fact that she had promised him. "Alright." She said quietly. "Then take my hands." Zeref complied and she brought her fingertips to her own forehead and whispered the same spell she had only a few minutes ago.

When Mavis hesitantly opened her eyes she was indeed, in the memory she'd experienced so long ago. What she wanted to do was run from this memory. It seemed all she knew how to do was run from it. But if Zeref could face his worst memory again, albeit, while curling up in a ball, then so could she.

After all, she wasn't like Zeref. She didn't live in constant fear of this very thing happening again… but she still feared it. It still made her cry, even though it happened more than ten years ago. She would never forget his face, cruel, unmerciful. And she would never forget HER face. The face of her best friend.

Mavis had been so scared that she hadn't been able to move. It was like she was watching a film and all she could do was look on in horror as it happened right in front of her.

Now, here she was, in the same room as it had happened so many moons ago. The day her best friend died. The day Zera died and she was left all alone, only able to watch, and not powerful enough to do a thing. Her mother had come, before he got her. But in Mavis's mind it had already been too late. Nothing would ever be the same. Not like it was before. Now she was here again, in this horrid memory, and whether she liked it or not, she was here to watch again, not able to do anything. Just like last time. It had never occurred to her before, but this spell she possessed… It really was cruel, wasn't it?

* * *

 **A/N So, here's the new update. I hope you enjoyed, the next chapter will be about Mavis's past. Zeref and Mavis are FINALLY starting to become something more than just enemies hahaha, so anyway, thanks for reading reviews/favorites/follows are all appreciated. Maybe I'll update again on Sunday, but as usual, we'll see. See you guys next time, bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

Zeref felt like he would break at any moment. That's why he still wanted to see Mavis's memory. He didn't want to be the only one about to shatter.

When Zeref opened his eyes, he was inside a bedroom. The walls were painted a soft pink and there were toys everywhere. Two girls sat in the middle of the room, playing. "This was the day my best friend died." Mavis told him, her green eyes hard. Zeref clenched his fists, not understanding what it was like to lose a friend but knowing what he would do if he lost someone close to him. He knew what he would do if it were Natsu, and it wouldn't be pretty.

"Oh." Zeref said quietly, merely staring at the two girls. To be honest, Zeref didn't think Mavis had changed much over the years. Sure, she was a little bigger, but in many ways, in all the ways that made a difference, she was still the same.

They had only been playing for a few minutes before Zeref and the girls heard something outside their bedroom door. "Mavis." The brunette said worriedly, glancing at her friend. "Did you hear that?"

"Relax, Zera." Mavis said, smiling brightly. "You know that the castle creeks all the time. It's probably just the walls settling. I told you that last time."

"Yeah but… I thought I heard footsteps." Zera told her.

"Don't worry so much, Zera." Mavis said.

"Well, since you don't worry, I have to worry enough for the both of us!"

"It's nothing, alright, let's just keep playing." Mavis insisted. Zera didn't look so sure, but she complied and kept playing with Mavis, although Zeref could see that she was more alert now.

Another creek filled the room, sounding eerily like footsteps. Zera froze again, holding the doll in her hand very tightly. "Mavis… I heard it again. I don't want to play here anymore. Let's go find your mom."

"Zera, it's nothing." Mavis said again. "My mom's always busy. I don't want to bother her. It's fine, there's no one there, I promise Zera."

"How can you be so sure?" Zera asked.

"I can be so sure, because nothing ever is there. I'm fairly certain Zera, that no one is there." Mavis assured. "Let's just keep playing." Zera's face showed reluctance but slowly she nodded, letting a small smile spread across her face.

"Alright."

So, the girls continued playing for a little while longer until they heard another creek. This time it sounded like it was right by the door. "Mavis." Zera whispered quietly. Even Mavis started looking a little concerned, as the creeks did sound an awful lot like footsteps. And no one in her palace would try to sneak up on them… no one friendly anyway. As a look of realization crossed her face, Zeref watched the door creek open. There, in the doorway was a pair of red eyes staring at the two girls.

Zeref thought those eyes were really creepy and honestly wanted to run away from whoever that weird person in the doorway was. Then, the door opened with a slam against the wall and in the doorway stood a man. He had red hair and bloody eyes staring with malicious intent written all over his face. Mavis stood, her eyes hardening. "Who are you?" she asked. "What do you want with us?" the demon didn't answer and started walking eerily toward them. Mavis backed away, guiding Zera with her. "Mom! MOM!" she called, not knowing what else to do. She knew a little magic, but this thing in front of her looked so terrifying that Mavis wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. "Mom!"

Zeref followed the demons quick movements as he darted across the room. Mavis didn't see it in time to dodge completely, but she managed to push both her and Zera out of the way in time to avoid fatal damage.

What really disturbed him though, was the look of predatory pleasure twinkling in the demon's eye. It was clear to anyone that he was merely playing with them, like a game of cat and mouse. There was already a determined winner, and the fun was not in the end, but in the chase. "It's a game to him." Mavis said beside him. Her fists were clenched to the point of where her nails made dents in her flesh.

"Don't clench your fists so hard." Zeref said quietly when blood started trailing down her wrist. "The pain helps focus, but in the end you will be light-headed."

"Right." Mavis said, slowly uncurling her fists.

"Tell me, how do injuries work in here? When you clench your fists here do you clench them in the real world?"

"Yes, I do. Any pain I feel here has also been inflicted upon me in the real world."

"Can you fight in memories?"

"Yes. If you were to punch me right here then the damage would be inflicted upon me in the real world, however the punch would make me lose concentration thus breaking the spell and dragging us back into the real world. So, in theory, yes you could fight, however that is very unlikely, as the first punch would end the spell."

"I see." Zeref said as he watched the demon strike.

"Do you know this demon?" Mavis asked.

"Yes, I do. I know all demons. It's important to know your citizens by name. It helps them feel important."

"What's his name?"

"No matter. He is dead now, so his name holds no meaning." Zeref said.

"It does to me. I want to know the name of the man that killed my best friend."

"I see… well then, if you must know, his name is Erik. Sometimes we call him by his title, Cobra, but his real name is Erik."

"Do all demons have a title?"

"No, just the powerful ones." Mavis peered at him curiously.

"Well, what's yours?" Zeref didn't think she really wanted to know, she only wanted to distract herself from what was happening, her way of coping. In the middle of the room Cobra cut down Zera. Her screams filled the room, red eyes glowed in triumph. And Mavis was left on her knees, watching as blood seeped from the various wounds on Zera's body.

"The demon king, obviously." Zeref said. Mavis gave him a look which Zeref knew meant that she wasn't buying it. He took a deep breath and said, "Alright, that wasn't always my title. Once upon a time I was known as the Black Wizard."

"Really? But why?" Mavis asked. Wizards were classified as humans who could use magic, and there hadn't been any of those for a very long time, centuries.

"I don't know…"

"Yes, you do." Zeref bit his lip and stared out at the nothingness of what had once been a happy scene. There had once been children playing. Now there was only blood and death.

"I guess, it's because, well, as a child I wasn't the most… powerful. That's why they called me wizard. I was a demon of high class and yet… not the power to back up the title, prince of hell. As weak as a wizard… as weak as a human. And the black came from the nature of my magic, of course. I had cursed magic… the only thing that my father could be proud of."

"But your powerful now." Zeref stared at the ground.

"It took me years to become this powerful, Mavis. I had to work twice as hard as anyone else to get this far, and I only did it because I knew I'd be king one day, and I knew that people were going to count on me to protect them. I'm… I'm not a fighter, never have been, and never wanted to be one. I'm a scholar, I study, I learn, I know so much, more than even my father. But I've never had the skill to put that knowledge to good use. I understand magic, not use it… that's why I wield only this dagger." Zeref grabbed the blade at his hip and unsheathed the darkened steel. "There is a sword. One that is much like your spear. It is our greatest masterpiece and the ruler of hell wields this sword. Only they have the power, and right to do so. But I've never been powerful enough. That's why I wield only this. The sword is too strong. I cannot lift it."

"Is it because you weren't very good at magic that your father…" she trailed off, uncertain if she wanted to say it. Zeref smiled sadly and shook his head.

"No, my father's just a piece of crap is all." Zeref said. "He needn't a reason to beat me, he just does it." Mavis pursed her lips and sighed.

"I see. Then I offer my condolences."  
"Your condolences are accepted." After a moment of silence Mavis put her hand lightly on his arm. Zeref didn't say anything about that and asked, "Is the memory over?"

"Yes, pretty much." Mavis said quietly. The guards had apprehended the demon and her mother had scooped Mavis up in her arms, the young girl sobbing the entire time. "This is it, the memory I have shown to no one else." Zeref closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, they were back in the cell.

"Do angels do this?" Zeref asked finally after he felt the silence had become awkward.

"Do what?"

"Touch each other to convey feelings of sorrow?" Mavis only stared at him, confused. "You're touching my arm."

"Oh." Mavis said. "I guess it was a reflex. And yes, angels do often touch each other to express comfort."

"I don't understand. Why do they do that?"

"Because we don't want the other to feel sad, or guilty… or disappointed. We don't want them to feel negative emotions."

"To let others see you in pain is shameful." Zeref said. "It is weak, to let others in. Why would you want to see each other in such a dreadful state?"

"Well, because, while I agree that sometimes people just need to be left alone to sort out their emotions. But other times people can only feel better with the comfort and presence of another human being." Mavis said. Zeref didn't share the same feelings. Sharing his pain with anyone… letting Mavis see him in such a dreadful state, even when he knew she understood he had been young… it hurt. "We need friends."

"Your friends make you weak. You care for them, and when their lives are threatened, you'll do anything to ensure their safety."

"Friends make you stronger, because you have something to fight for. Even you, demon lord, have people, friends, that you fight for. This battle with your father. The one your so desperate to win. It's because you don't ever want to be that child again, but it's also because you don't want those close to you, such as your brother, to be hurt in the same way you were." Zeref refused to believe she was right. Mavis being right only added to his anger.

As he sat there, glaring at the floor, he had only just come up with a response to this when he heard footsteps walking down the hall. Both Mavis and Zeref stood up as if preparing for an attack.

What they saw honestly shocked the both of them into silence. Gray came into view, holding what appeared to be the keys to the cell in one hand, and an unconscious Natsu in the other "Gray?" Zeref asked. "What happened?"

"You happened." Gray replied, dropping Natsu. "What I want to know, is why you did it."

"Why… I did it?"

"Don't play dumb! Why'd you kill them? Why'd you kill my parents!" Zeref felt like he got the wind knocked out of him. He was not prepared for this. He was not prepared for this conversation. Gray must've heard him explaining to Mavis, that was the only way he could've known.

"Gray… I…" Zeref was at a loss for words. He'd never prepared for the why question. He'd never even thought that Gray might ask the why question. He'd always just thought that he'd tell Gray, and Gray would hate him. There wouldn't be any questions. Just a simple understanding.

"Well, we'll see how you like it when I kill one of your family members!" Gray cried and took out a small, but sharp knife. "I know how to kill a demon. You taught me, remember." He said the last word in a growl.

"Gray, don't!" Zeref said and grabbed the iron bars, wishing he could bend them, but not able to as he was drained from his fight with Acnologia. Mavis had used the last of her power also, so there was no way to get to the other side of the cell. "Look, I know your upset, but Natsu had nothing to do with it! He didn't know I killed your parents so please leave him out of this. He's not a part of it!"  
"Oh, he became a part of it as soon as you killed my parents! It doesn't feel so great losing family, growing up without someone to love you, surrounded by a bunch of demons! But you wouldn't know that feeling! Your entire family is still alive! Your mom and dad… your brother. You have everything that I don't!"

"Gray, I know. I'm so sorry, I have no excuse I just… I had to. I couldn't let them do it. Gray, I hate to say it but… your parents weren't good people. They defied me, they defied her." Zeref pointed to Mavis. "And they were going to kill you!"

"Liar! My parents would never."

"They obviously would because they almost did! They had killed one of mine, for no reason other than the fact they wanted to showcase him as some sort of art project. What kind of ruler would I be if I let them get away with that! It wasn't their first offence against us either, but what they hadn't realized was that I was the new demon lord, and that I wouldn't let them do what they pleased with us like my father would! They blamed you for why I came to them. I saw the darkness within their hearts and if a human child could not ease that darkness then nothing could. Unlike them you were innocent. It was their lives or yours, so I made my choice and I do not regret saving you. What I do regret is that I didn't tell you how…"

"You're just making this stuff up, so I won't kill your stupid brother!" Gray cried.

"My brother's your best friend. You couldn't do it."

"And just why not?" Gray growled.

"Because… because… you're a better person than I am." Zeref said. "So please don't." Gray slowly lowered the knife after a while and stared at him through the bars. "Now just, open the cell." Zeref encouraged.

"No… you'll only kill me."

"No, I won't. I'm not mad… well, alright, that part's a lie. But I won't kill you, that's the truth." Gray didn't look so sure but apparently, he figured out that he had nothing to lose and inserted the key into the lock.

Twisting it the cell door opened with a click. Then Gray undid the cuffs and they fell to the ground with a clang. Zeref and Mavis both walked out of the cell after they were freed. "Thank you, for rescuing us." Mavis said, smiling softly. "It was the right thing to do."

"Yeah well, you're an angel, so I guess you would know." Gray begrudgingly admitted as he sheathed his knife once more.

"She's right though. Thank you for doing the right thing." Zeref said. Gray shrugged and crossed his arms as Zeref bent down and picked his sleeping brother up, patting Gray on the head to which he scowled.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's not get all mushy because there's still a war to win."

"Well, isn't he just adorable, pretending to be all serious." Mavis said in a patronizing tone. Gray glared at her and said,

"The only adorable one around here is you…" Gray only realized after he said it that it was not an insult like he'd meant it to be. Zeref and Mavis both tried to conceal laughter at his expense. Gray's frown only got deeper, and his ears turned pink from embarrassment. "Sh-shut up!" he exclaimed, flushing redder. "Let's just forget that happened. This information is more important anyway. Now, remember how Acnologia's the dragon king?" the other two nodded. "Well, the other dragons don't like him so much, so they're planning to kill him." Gray said.

"What? And Acnologia's allowing them to plan in secret if he doesn't have full control over them? Does he even know? Why would he let anyone become powerful enough to beat him! That doesn't seem practical."

"To be honest." Zeref said. "My father is rather stupid. He relies on brute strength alone to win his battles, and for the most part, he can do this, and it works out okay for him because of how powerful he is. However, he's also very cocky. It's most likely that he knew the dragons didn't like him, however his ego is so huge it's unlikely that he finds them a true threat."

"The dragons claim that they can beat him with brute strength." Gray said.

"And how can we trust these dragons? They are the enemy after all… and hang on a minute. If they're here in the castle, then that means my troops were defeated." Mavis said, worrying for their safety. What if they were all dead?

"It's worth a shot though. We don't really have anything else to lose considering the two of us can't defeat him, even together." Zeref said with a shrug. "This is it. The only thing the dragons would have to gain from this is to build us up and then tear us down, which is rather childish." Zeref said.

"So, you think they're telling the truth? We could win?" Gray asked excitedly.

"I think we could, and I think it's worth a shot." Mavis said.

"What've we got to lose?" Zeref said with a shrug. He was in. It was then that Mavis reminded him of something very important that they might lose,

"Each other."

* * *

 **A/N Here it is I hope you enjoyed it. I knew I had to make a little conflict where Gray and Zeref were involved but I didn't want to make it too major since this story is already long enough. Anyway, thanks for reading reviews/favorites/follows are all very motivating. So, hopefully I will see you soon, bye!**


	12. Chapter 12

"So, how are we going to defeat Acnologia?" Mavis asked as they walked down the halls of the prison, tensions high. With Zeref and Gray basically ignoring each other and Natsu asleep Mavis was in the middle of them. It felt like at any moment they would snap and start to destroy each other, which Mavis hope didn't happen since she needed everyone's limbs intact for what was coming next. So, she felt like asking a question was the only way to break the silence.

"Well, I don't think there's much we can do." Gray said quietly. "I mean, none of us are powerful enough to bring him down, so basically I think our best bet is to rely on the dragons."

"I don't want to _rely_ on anybody." Zeref said the word rely as if it tasted bad on his tongue.

"I thought that you decided that needing help wasn't always a bad thing." Mavis said. "Isn't that why you asked me here."

"Well, I only meant when you absolutely have to. And this time, I refuse to absolutely have to. I don't want anyone but me to defeat my father." Zeref said.

"That's understandable, but not realistic." Mavis told him. "I know that you'd love to beat your father, but I'm just not sure that you can. It's that simple."  
Zeref was silent, crossing his arms. "Come on, your smart enough to know that your efforts would be futile." Mavis added. Zeref licked his lips and said,

"… Can't we… I don't know, at least help the dragons battle my father." Mavis shrugged.

"If we can help, we should."

So, they continued up the stairs and through the halls of the castle. "So, does anyone know where these "good" dragons might be?" Mavis asked.

"Well, when we talked to them, they were in the infirmary." Gray said.

"Well, then let's go there." Zeref said, shrugging.

Going to the infirmary Zeref opened the door, reaching for the hilt of his dagger only to realize it was gone. He cursed before going deeper into the medical room.

"Hello? Dragon-people?" Mavis wondered.

"Hello." Grandine said, coming from around the corner.

"Oh, hi." Mavis said, blinking. "Who are you?"

"Grandine, the official healer of the dragon race. It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty." She said.

"She's the nice one." Gray said to Mavis. Grandine smiled at him and asked,

"Is there something you need? Last I recall you two were locked up in prison."

"Yeah, I broke them out." Gray said proudly.

"You also tried to mutilate my brother." Zeref added. Gray ignored his comment and rolled his eyes.

"You never did answer my question." Grandine said to break the awkward silence.

"Honestly, we don't need anything. Gray told us your plot to kill Acnologia and we wanted to see if we could help… Zeref is pretty insistent." Mavis told her.

Grandine smiled, "Oh well of course he is."

Mavis raised an eyebrow. "I mean with all the crap Acnologia's put him through of course he's "insistent" as you put it."

"So, is there anything?" Zeref asked.

"Well… I suppose we need all the help we can get, but demon lord, you say you want to defeat Acnologia?"

Zeref nodded. "Well then, you can grab your treasure. You know, the sword. That sword is a weapon of mass destruction. Yet, it doesn't rely on magic power."

"Um… well, hasn't father already taken it?"

"He can't. The sword belongs to the demon lord. He is demon lord no longer, however. So, he can't touch it. With that sword we'll win for sure and the best part is that you can help, right?"

Zeref didn't really want to admit that he wasn't powerful enough to wield the sword. "I… I… I can't." Zeref's tone was riddled with disappointment and uncertainty.

"What do you mean you can't?" Grandine asked. "You're the demon lord, aren't you?" Zeref nodded.

"I am, but… I'm not powerful enough. I can't lift it, I just can't. I've tried for years but I've never succeeded in lifting it up. And if I can't even lift it, then it's doubtful that I can fight with it."

"What do you mean you can't pick it up? You can pick up anything." Gray said.

"Not this." It was his greatest humiliation. "I can't lift it." Zeref couldn't believe that his chance to help Grandine and the other dragons defeat his father was ruined by how weak he was, again. But in the end, he should've expected this. He'd always been weak against his father, had never been able to compare to him. This was no different. He should've expected that the reason he was never able to defeat his father was because he was too weak. In the end, it was always because he was too weak.

What he didn't expect however, was for Mavis to grab him by the collar of his shirt. She stared him dead in the eyes. "Are you giving up?" she asked seriously.

"Well…" Zeref didn't have the heart to continue. If he was answering truthfully then the answer was yes, but somehow Zeref knew that was the wrong answer.  
"Don't you want to defeat your father?"

"Yes." He said, this time he didn't hesitate.

"Do you think that this victory is going to fall into your lap? Do you!" Zeref shook his head. "That's right! You have to work for it, you have to get stronger and stronger all the time because no matter how strong you get there's always going to be someone stronger than you! That's why we train! So, what's going to happen is you're going to stop feeling sorry for yourself and you are going to go get that sword and we are going to kill that idiotic brute, alright?" Zeref nodded. "Because you might not be the most powerful being in the universe, capable of crushing the mortal realm with your pinky, but that doesn't matter. Because you're strong where it counts." She jabbed a finger at his heart. "You hear me?"

"Yes." Zeref said wondering what was with the pep talk all of a sudden.

"Then let's go get him." Mavis said, a smile coming to her face, making Zeref's hands sweat for some reason. "We'll get that sword." Mavis told Grandine. "And we will save the universe." Grandine smiled kindly and nodded.

"I very much hope you do."

"I will get the sword, but…" Zeref started. Mavis sighed and rolled her eyes.

"There's always a but, isn't there."

"But I need you to look after Natsu and Gray for me." Zeref said, slowly handing Natsu off to the woman. He didn't want to leave Natsu in the hands of some dragon stranger, but he didn't really have a choice.

"Alright. They'll be safe with me, I promise." Grandine told him. "And we dragons take our promises very seriously as our honor is only as good as our word."

"Good." To be honest, her saying that only made him more apprehensive.

"Take good care of them. When I get back here, I don't want a scratch on either one of them." Grandine nodded.

"You can rest assured that I will take care of them. And if you don't believe me then I think you'll believe miss Porlyusica."

Zeref frowned and called, "Porlyusica?" the said woman poked her head around the corner and said,

"Yeah, yeah, the brats will be fine. Now get out of my sight you lousy pest." Zeref blinked,

"I think she's ticked." Mavis said as Porlyusica disappeared around the corner.

"… That's one word for it." Zeref commented. "Well, I suppose it's alright as long as Porlyusica is here." Zeref turned around. Porlyusica might've been in a bad mood, but who wouldn't be in her situation? And even if she was in a bad mood Zeref trusted her to look after Natsu and Gray as if they were her own. She was just that kind of person. No matter how crabby, Zeref could count on her.

So, Zeref and Mavis left the infirmary to make their way towards the throne room where the most powerful treasure of the demon race lay wedged in the podium, right next to the throne. It had always sat there, mocking him. Zeref would've moved it to the darkest corner of the room except he couldn't move it. The sword was too heavy.

"So, that's the sword. How could I have never noticed it before." Mavis mumbled. Zeref shrugged.

"I don't know, I mean, it's pretty hard to miss with how big it is." Mavis glared at him though a tiny smirk played on her lips.

"I suppose you must think me rather unobservant."

"Not so much unobservant as forgetful." Zeref commented.

"Whatever." Mavis grumbled, looking around. "I'm surprised there aren't more people out. You'd think that battles would be raging around this place, but it just seems oddly… empty."

Zeref snorted. "That's probably because no one can find each other. I bet I'll still be finding corpses years from now. They're always littering the halls. Scares the children, but I don't care." Zeref said.

"Figures you wouldn't care."

"Now don't get all stereotypical on me."

Mavis sighed and said irritably. "Would you just get the stupid sword."

"It's not as simple as that Mavis. Don't you know that before I can get the sword and defeat the villain, I have to find myself, learn a lesson on friendship or whatever, and find a heroine who ends up falling in love with me?"

"That is so cliché! It's not like you're going to try and pull the sword out and it tells you you're not worthy!" Zeref shrugged,

"Who can really tell anymore? I mean, I didn't think I'd ever be talking to you like this, and if we can talk like normal people than anything is possible."

"Just because you're right doesn't mean that because it's "possible" it's going to happen."

"Now I never said it was going to happen. Stop putting words in my mouth."

"Just get the sword!"

"Alright, sheesh. Don't get so worked up." Mavis only glared at him as he walked up to the podium. The dark sword glistened there like gold. Beautiful and unreachable. He reached out and grabbed the handle, his mind racing and his heart pumping.

He was going to pull up when a voice behind him made him halt. "Your majesty, what're you doing?" Zeref recognized the voice and felt a tiny flicker of rage rise up within him.

"What do you want, Invel?" Zeref asked, turning. He remembered his fathers words. Zeref had hoped he was lying, but there wasn't really any other plausible explanation. Invel was the only other person that knew of his plan to contact Mavis for help. No one else knew. Not his guards, or Porlyusica, or Anna. No one had known. No one except Invel. "Have you come to betray me once more?"  
Invel was silent, staring at him, eyes sorrowful. "Your majesty I… you don't understand. It was for your own good." Zeref scoffed.

"And how was it for my own good?"

"Well, you see. Your majesty I knew that you couldn't defeat him, and I was right. You were defeated, and he kept his promise too."

"His promise?"

"He promised he would keep you alive." Invel said. "And he promised our kingdom's safety. I couldn't let him destroy our kingdom or you! I had to act and to do that I had to help him, but I did it for you! Everything I do is for you!"

"My father is a liar!" Zeref snarled, marching up to his general. "You are a soldier! You follow orders! I did not order you to tell him of our plans."

"But I had to-."

"And as your king, I say you have committed treason! This is the worst kind of mutiny and I really should execute you." Invel clenched his hands into fists.

"Whatever you believe is best… sire."

Zeref sighed and told him, "As your friend, however, I believe that you tried you best. You did what you thought would protect us. You did what you thought was right and in the end that's all we can do. I shall come up with a punishment for your insubordination later. Now, however, I need you to please keep a lookout with Mavis. Watch for Acnologia and anyone else."

Mavis nodded but Invel asked, "What're you doing?"

"I'm going to pull the sword of hell from this podium." Zeref answered softly.

"But you've never been able to pull it out."

"Well I'm going to now. It's the only way to help defeat my father. Besides, I haven't tried in a while, maybe I've gotten strong enough to slide the sword out without any trouble."

"Even I know that probably won't happen. And I didn't even know this sword existed until ten minutes ago." Mavis said dryly. Zeref shrugged and responded,

"You never know what could happen."

Zeref then sighed and walked back over to the podium where the large sword still sat, taunting him. Zeref curled his fingers around the hilt and tugged with all his might. The sword, however, didn't even budge. Zeref scowled and gave another sharp tug but the sword stayed stubbornly in place. "Are you pulling it?" Mavis asked. Zeref gave a growl of annoyance and said,

"Yes, Mavis." Zeref didn't know when they had progressed to a first-name basis, but apparently that was how it was now. Zeref gave a few more tugs before sighing and letting go of the handle. "It's no use. I can't pull it out."

"You're giving up?" Mavis asked with a raised eyebrow. "What did we talk about?" Zeref scowled at her for a long time before turning back to the stupid blade. Mouthing obscenities he gave the sword a mock tug. "Oh, come on. You weren't even trying there." Mavis said her tone exasperated.

"You're right, no I didn't. Because I'm not foolish enough to keep trying to succeed at something I've known from the start that I'll fail." Mavis crossed her arms and glared at him,

"Well, maybe you fail because you've already accepted that you're going to fail."

"I don't care. Not having hope means no disappointment."

"And not having hope means living a dead life… For once, maybe you should try and think you can succeed. You might not be able to pull the sword out, but there's always another way. You're supposed to have a big brain. Use it!"

"I don't have to take orders from you!"

Mavis's face morphed into something Zeref had never thought he'd see. It made him take a tiny step back. "Normally, I would indulge you. Tell you that, no, you don't have to take orders from me. But this is war. I could bring up the fact that your life belongs to me. I could argue that yes, you do have to take orders from me. But I'm not going to do any of that. I'm not going to order you to do anything. But I know that you know what the right thing to do is. And despite what you are, I also believe that perhaps you demons do try to do the right thing sometimes. So, I'm not going to tell you to do anything. Because despite if you choose to stay or to walk away, I know that you will…" she paused, her eyes searching his.

"Do what's right?" he finished for her, giving her a questioning look.

"… I know that you will do what you _believe_ is right." Mavis said. "And that's all that I could ever ask of anyone."

"You can ask everything of everyone, if you desired. I think what you mean to say, is that's all you _would_ ever ask of anyone." Zeref corrected her. Mavis didn't answer him, for once, staying silent. She didn't need to say anything, all Zeref needed to know, her eyes told him. Zeref licked his lips, "You want me to believe that I can pull this sword out when moments ago I was pulling with all my strength and it didn't budge?"

"I thought you were smart." Was all she said.

"You want me to believe, to… _hope_." Zeref said it like a curse word. Mavis didn't even bother telling him anything this time. She knew this had been a rhetorical question. "What if I don't want to."

"Then you don't have to." Mavis answered. That didn't sound right. Mavis was supposed to encourage him to keep trying, like she had been. Zeref knew that Mavis was most likely trying to use reverse psychology. Telling him she didn't care and that if he didn't want to, he shouldn't, making him want to continue just to oppose her. What was really irritating was that it was working. He could just imagine all the things she was thinking about him in her head. How he was weak or not good enough and it just made his blood boil.

In his heart he knew that if he truly wanted to, he could do what everyone wanted him to do. He could pull the blade out of the podium, but he didn't really want to. That meant he was truly the king. That meant he was officially the demon king forever until he relinquished the title to one of his offspring, died, or someone else was able to lift the sword. With a heavy sigh Zeref took the hilt again and tugged hard as he could.

And in just one instant, the sword moved, just a little. Zeref paused and let go of the hilt like it was on fire. "It moved…" Mavis didn't bother to point out that he was stating the obvious and nodded.

"Yes, it did."

"… What do I do now?"

"KEEP PULLING IT!" Mavis shouted, finally losing her patience. Zeref listened to her and kept pulling with all his strength, his hope, against his will, becoming stronger and stronger until he dislodged the stupid weapon and fell backward. Both Invel and Mavis caught him before he could hit the ground and Zeref, with little effort steadied himself back on his feet.

"Thanks." He grumbled unhappily. Yes, he had the sword, but having it meant that Mavis had been right and Zeref had been wrong. Zeref hated being wrong.

"Your welcome." Mavis said cheerfully, probably happy that she had been right.

"So, I'm officially the king of hell." Zeref said, running his fingers along the shiny, deadly blade.

"How does it feel?" Invel asked. Zeref shrugged, he didn't really feel any different, although he did feel a little triumphant.

"I guess it's cool."

"You guess?" Mavis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um… It's cool." Zeref knew he didn't sound too convincing but that was the least of his problems. Now he had to take this blade and go see his father. Acnologia was probably already angry when he found out he couldn't lift the blade even with all his raw strength. He'd be even angrier when he saw that Zeref had it, and he was not looking forward to that encounter. Then again, any encounter with his father Zeref deemed unpleasant. He decided to put it away for now, so he used a little magic to store it in a pocket dimension.

"So, now we locate the other dragons and then attack Acnologia." Mavis said. "Do you think the dragons would be back in the infirmary?"

"Even if they aren't, that's where Grandine is. She's bound to know the location of the others." Zeref said. Mavis and Invel both nodded in agreement, though, Invel really didn't know what he was agreeing to.

"Yes, your majesty. I would go, but I need to find my troops, so we can regroup and keep attacking the dragons that are loyal to Acnologia." Zeref nodded curtly,

"Fine, you do that then." Then, Invel went one way and he and Mavis went the other.

After one wrong turn and several detours later, they reached the infirmary, where, it was quite obvious that an argument was taking place, as, there was a lot of yelling inside.

"Should we go in there?" Mavis asked. Zeref shrugged and carefully put his ear to the door to listen in. Mavis, moral as always, scowled at him and hissed, "It's wrong to eavesdrop."

"Well I don't see you stopping me." Zeref hissed back and then told her to shut up which earned him another scary look.

"YOU HIT ME ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD!" the first voice screamed.

"So, what? I told you I was sorry!" the second cried. "What else do you want me to do?"

"I don't know! But sorry doesn't cut it!"

"Well, there's nothing else I can do… right?" the first voice was silent for a long time. Zeref picked that moment to ease the door open slightly so he could see who was arguing, though, it didn't take a genius to guess who.

"I don't know… I guess you're right. There isn't anything else you can do, but I can't forgive you right now. I trusted you… I should be able to trust my best friend."

"For the last time; you are not my friend and I am not yours! I know that now! I'm only here because your _brother_ killed my parents! Well guess what? Both of you can rot in hell!"

"Oh yeah? You want us to rot?" Natsu pushed his sleeves up and curled his hands into fists. Before Gray's eyes widened Natsu had given him a solid punch to the jaw. Gray stumbled backward and spat out some blood before giving Natsu a punch. Natsu's head snapped back from the force but he grabbed Gray's arm and threw him down on the ground.

"Shouldn't you stop this?" Mavis whispered. Zeref was too busy watching the brawl to answer. "Zeref!" she hissed.

"No, don't get involved. It's not serious yet. And they might as well let out all the pent-up anger. Besides, it'll be easier to defuse the battle if we let them tire themselves out first."

Mavis frowned but didn't contradict him. "Okay."

Gray growled and shot ice shards at Natsu. The salmon-haired boy melted them as a result. Then, Gray ran and threw himself on top of Natsu who flipped him over and punched Gray again. "We're not friends, huh?" Natsu cried and punched again. "Well then, I'll show you just what happens when I'm your enemy!"

"You're not my friend! You never have been, you're just too stupid to realize that we were always enemies! I mean, who ever heard of a human and a demon being friends?" Gray spat. Natsu's eyes clouded over with rage and he raised his fist to punch Gray again.

Mavis blinked and opened her mouth to tell Zeref he should probably stop them now, but the demon king was already there, yanking Natsu off of Gray. "Natsu!" Zeref shouted as Natsu struggled, trying to hurl himself at his new enemy as Gray scrambled away, standing.

"You're crazy!" he screamed, wiping blood from his face. Natsu screamed and probably would've pounded Gray into the floor forever if Zeref hadn't had a death grip on him.

"Natsu! Natsu! NATSU!" Zeref grabbed Natsu's face and twisted it around so that his younger brother's eyes met his. Natsu, for an instant, stopped struggling and stared at Zeref's eyes. A few silent seconds passed before Natsu's face crumpled and he started crying. Zeref didn't say anything and held him until Natsu's tears had stopped. "Alright." He said softly. "Now, you apologize to each other. Right now."

"No!" They both cried. Zeref sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Alright then. Why don't you tell me why you're mad?"

"He said we weren't friends, knocked me out, and held a knife to my throat!" Natsu cried, pointing at Gray.

"Yeah well, he… he…" Gray's furious eyes darted around the room, trying to come up with a reason he was mad. "He hit me!" Gray finally shouted, pointing at Natsu. It sounded childish even to his own ears.

"Well you hit me too!" Natsu shouted.

"Well it sounds to me, Gray. That you aren't mad at Natsu." Gray glared at him, his scowl withering. "You're mad at me." Zeref said, sighing. "And you're taking that anger out on my brother."

"So, what if I am?" Gray snarled.

"Why are you mad at me, Gray?"

"Oh, gee, I wonder. Maybe it's because you murdered my family and LIED about it for years! You pretended to care about me and my safety when really all I am is a tool! I thought you were a good person! I was the one who ended up being the stupidest of us all."

"Gray, I thought we went over this."

"You lied about how I came to be here! I wonder what else you lied about!"

"So, you're mad at Zeref because he lied to you." Mavis clarified.

"I trusted you… and you lied to me… so, hell yeah that's what I'm mad about!" Gray shouted. Mavis gave Zeref a knowing look as if to say, I told you so.

Mavis had been right twice. That really got on Zeref's nerves, but he ignored that and said,

"I know. I lied to you and I've broken your trust, but I do care about you."

"If you cared about me you would've told me the truth."

"I know…" Zeref said. "If I cared about you, I would've told you the truth. But I wanted you to care about me also. That's why I didn't tell you. I knew that you wouldn't care if you knew the truth. I was selfish, and I wanted your trust. I didn't tell you because I was thinking of my own feelings, not yours. So, I'm sorry. That's all I can say, and you don't have to forgive me… but please don't take your hatred for me out on your best friend."

"He's not my friend." Gray protested, but it wasn't said in a hostile manner.

"Yes, he is." Zeref said. "He always has been. You've always been together since you were very small."

Gray glanced at Natsu who wrung his fingers nervously. "Yeah, you're right." Gray admitted. "… I'm sorry, for all the things I said and hitting you and stuff."

"Yeah… and stuff. I'm sorry too, for what that's worth." Natsu said. Gray nodded in acceptance.

"So, you two gonna hug now?"

"Sure." Natsu said.

"Do we have to?" Gray whined and then was cut off by Natsu already hugging him.

"Apparently, yes." Zeref said, mildly amused. "That reminds me, where is Porlyusica and Grandine?"

"Oh, in there." Natsu said, pointing.

"In the medical supply closet? What're they doing in there?" Mavis asked.

"Well…" Natsu looked sheepishly up at his brother. "I kind of, maybe, sort of locked them in there…" Zeref was silent. "Are you gonna yell?"

"No, I don't think I'm going to have to." Zeref said. "Now where's the key?"

Natsu handed it over and Zeref unlocked the supply closet where Grandine appeared bored and Porlyusica alight with rage. "Where are those two scrawny hooligans? I'm going to wring their scrawny necks!" Porlyusica shouted and out of the corner of her dark red eyes spotted them. "Ah, there you are!" Porlyusica shouted and marched over to them. "And where did you get those injuries?" Gray, realizing their escape from eminent doom, hunched over slightly with a pained expression he didn't answer her and instead whimpered that it hurt. Natsu, not smart, but smart enough to catch on, did the same.

Porlyusica stared at them unconvinced. "That was a rhetorical question. I know where you got those injuries. I'm old, not deaf. And you completely deserve each of those bruises." She said, inspecting them. "Ah, you won't die, now get over here." Porlyusica dragged them into the next room, the two boys scrambling to get out of her hold.

"What's wrong with them?" Mavis asked worriedly. "They _are_ going to be okay, aren't they?" Zeref only stared gravely into the next chamber.

"Who knows?" Mavis was not reassured. "That's the broom room. There is only one thing that even comes close to frightening me as much as my father does. And it's that room. The broom room."

"W-what's going to happen?"

"You don't want to know." Mavis was fairly sure she didn't because of the pleads coming from the other room." After that exchange everything was quiet for several minutes.

"So, I honestly didn't expect you two to be back so soon." Grandine said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah well, I didn't expect to be back at all. But here we are." Zeref said with a shrug. "We came back to the infirmary to meet up with all the other dragons. Do you know where they might be."

"Since you're asking, I presume that you got the sword?" Zeref nodded. Grandine smiled, relieved. "I always knew that you could do it." Zeref resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She didn't even know him. "Alright then, since you have the sword, and are here, I will tell you where the other dragons are. At the moment they are with Acnologia and I've been communicating with them through telepathy, with the help of one of your angels."

"The help of one of my angels?" Mavis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Warren has been very helpful."

"But why is he supporting you? I mean, I know you're not the enemy anymore, but I haven't had time to tell my soldiers that yet."

"Well, I never said it was of free will."

"Oh." Mavis said flatly and rolled her eyes.

"Fine then, so you can tell them that we're on our way?" Grandine nodded.

"Yes, I can tell them to hold off on the attack until you arrive."

"That's great. This war is almost over." Zeref said. Grandine nodded.

"Indeed. We are on the final stretch."

"Are you coming with us?" Zeref asked. Grandine nodded.

"Of course." She said. "As long as you don't need me to look after the boys."

"That won't be necessary." Porlyusica said, coming out of the "broom room". "I'll watch them. And there won't be any more misbehaving, right boys?" the two quickly shook their heads, grasping her robes tightly. "Good." She said, smoothing their hair down. "Then hop on that table, and we'll get your bruises taken care of." The two did so and Porlyusica went to work.

"Well then, I guess it's settled." Mavis said smiling. "Let's go."

"Now, remember you two. This battle will not be an easy one, even with all of us combined."

The two rulers nodded in understanding, Zeref knowing that yes, his father was very powerful. It was quite apparent that this would be a hard battle, even with all of them against him. "Then we'll just have to be at our very best." Zeref said determinedly as he and Mavis took the lead, Grandine trailing behind them.

"Don't die!" Natsu shouted from inside the infirmary, followed by Porlyusica shouting at him not to shout.

"I won't." Zeref promised.

"Yeah? Well, you better keep it this time." Gray muttered, his blue eyes staring into Zeref's. All the demon lord could do was nod and hope that this time, he would not break either of their trust.

* * *

 **A/N So, here's the new chapter! I hope you all liked it, there's a little more conflict between Gray, Zeref, and Natsu in this one so, yeah. But, this is not the end. At the beginning this chapter started out differently, but I thought it was too silly to keep in there, so I deleted it. This is not apart of the main story, but here is the deleted chapter start,**

* * *

Mavis, Zeref, Gray, and an unconscious Natsu all ran out of the prison. "How are we going to help the dragons defeat Acnologia?" Mavis asked.

"Maybe, we just don't get involved." Gray answered blandly.

"But I want to get involved. I want to be the one to defeat him." Zeref said, not wanting others to fight his battles for him. He understood asking for help, but sitting back while someone else fought, and not helping them seemed cowardice.

"That probably wouldn't be a good idea." Gray said, frowning. "I mean, no offense or anything, but you'd probably only get in the way." He added.

"Lots of offense taken." Zeref replied dryly.

Meanwhile, Natsu was starting to stir on Zeref's back. Natsu groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "Whas goin on" he grumbled sleepily.

"We're just now leaving the prison." Zeref told him.

"Oh…" Natsu said, putting his head back on his brother's shoulder. "To where?"

"I… I'm honestly not sure." Zeref told him. "Where are we going?" Zeref asked.

"Well, I assume we're going to go make new plans with these dragons." Mavis said. "I mean, that way we can watch everything that's happening and help in any way we can."

Zeref didn't like the way she said it. Like they were going to sit back and do nothing. Well, Zeref wasn't going to do that. But, he'd play along with this little plan of theirs for now. "Don't even think about it." Gray told him quietly.

"I'm not going to take back-talk from an eight-year-old."

"Ten, and I know you're just thinking about going along with the with this "plan" for now and then pull something on us at the last minute, get yourself killed, and doom us all."

"Um… no, I wasn't." Zeref said.

"Whatever you say."

"You have no idea how much I want to strangle you right now." Zeref said. Gray shrugged,

"You always want to strangle me."

"… Fair. Now, this is going to be dangerous so be careful."

"… Alright."

"Which reminds me… how are you able to use magic? Humans haven't been known to possess magical properties for years." Zeref said.

"That's not really a fair statement." Mavis interjected. "All beings have an affinity for magic, humans included. It's not magical properties they lack, it's the resources to learn how to use those properties. With the right knowledge any human could learn."

"Yeah, sure, I know that. But how does _he_ know?"

"You know, I visit the library a lot when I bring lady Anna her food and stuff. I picked up a book on maker magic and… voila." Gray shrugged.

"I see… how come you haven't used it up until now?" Zeref asked.

"I tried to escape the castle using it once… it turns out that ice is very… slippery."

"No kidding." Zeref said sarcastically. Gray sneered and rolled his eyes.

As they walked down the halls to the infirmary Natsu woke up enough to walk. "Gray! Why'd you hit me on the back of the head! I know you were upset but you didn't have to smack me!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry buddy. I just needed to take my anger and disbelief out on someone. Also, I planned to kill you."

"You what!"

"Planned to kill you. And I'm sorry. I don't think I would've been able to do it anyway, but it was nice to think I would."

"Well, I guess I can forgive you… hugs?"  
"No." Gray said flatly. Natsu ignored him and wrapped two arms around him. Gray cringed and tried pushing Natsu away, but he was really stuck on there.

"Aw, I wish I had the camera." Zeref said.

"Good thing you don't." Gray grumbled finally managing to peel Natsu off. "You would've had to buy a new one when it "accidently" froze."

"Don't threaten my camera." Zeref said. Gray ignored him and said to Mavis,

"So, what were you guys doing in there and more importantly, how are you both still alive? I mean, I was sure you'd tear each other apart in there."

"As it would happen, we didn't. Because as you can guess we're responsible adults and started to talk out our differences and find common ground—and don't you dare laugh! We're responsible adults and you know it!"

* * *

 **A/N There you have it! I hope you enjoyed the deleted scene too. And the reason for how Gray can use magic in there, that is the reason in the mains story as well. But I suppose the characters don't know that yet so I will have to explain it at some point... Also, thank you guest reviewers for your encouragement, I am glad that you are enjoying this. So, thanks to everyone reading this and I will update soon, maybe on Monday or Tuesday, but we'll see. Reviews/follows/favorites are motivational for me, so if you like this, please do that! Anyway, I will see you all next week, bye!**


	13. Chapter 13

Zeref and Mavis walked down the halls of the castle (again). "Isn't there a faster way to travel?" Mavis asked.

Zeref shrugged. "If there is, I wouldn't know it."

"Maybe we could fly?"

"… I suppose that would be a little faster." Zeref said. Again, Mavis was right. He might not be wrong about anything exactly, but her being right was still enough to get him annoyed. Especially with how often it was happening.

"Then we should fly, but before we do that, I think that you have something to tell me."

Zeref gave her his best scowl but that didn't change her facial expression. "Fine…" he mumbled the phrase he was supposed to say under his breath.

"What? I didn't hear." Mavis said. His scowl deepened somehow,

"I was wrong! You were right! There, I said it!"

"See, was that so hard?" she had no idea just how hard it was. Zeref was left with that feeling he'd felt in the beginning, the feeling he'd felt when they'd first encountered the other. The feeling of rage yes, but Zeref could tell now, that that wasn't all it was. Zeref wanted to ask Mavis about what he was feeling, as she would more than likely know, but the only problem with that was, did Zeref want to know? He concluded that if Mavis would be able to answer him then he most likely did not.

"What was he wrong about?" Grandine asked.

"Oh, he said that Gray would be angry because Zeref killed his parents. I said he would be angry because Zeref lied to him and broke his trust, therefore, I was right. The kid even openly admitted it! And the two of us made a deal when we were locked down in the dungeons together. He said that when I was wrong, I had to admit it. I agreed but said that when he was wrong, he had to admit it. He was wrong, so he admitted it." Mavis said as if it was ordinary to make bets when imprisoned.

"I see…" Grandine said, thought for a moment, decided she had nothing more to say on the matter, and changed the subject, "How long does it take to get to where we're going?"

"It depends on the rotation, day, and month. Today is a Monday, in June, and I would say it's early morning, around 3 A.M, meaning that it would be the third rotation today. If that's true, then getting to the to where we're going shouldn't take too long. If we do fly, we might get there a few minutes ahead of what I predicted." Zeref reasoned.

"That was unnecessarily detailed." Mavis commented. She looked like she had thought of something else and was about to speak when Zeref cut her off,

"Yeah, well, I don't care."

Mavis rolled her eyes, "Well, we do want to get there quickly but it's imperative that we stick together as well. Grandine, I don't suppose you'd be able to fly in that form."

"Now, while dragons are in this state, we don't have wings, so we can blend in with the general population more effectively since in this form, we are, theoretically, human. We can't even use our special abilities like dragon slayers can while in this form. So, I suppose that the answer would be no, I cannot fly." Grandine stated.

"I guess that's to be expected. There's always complications."

"We'll just have to stick to walking. We were planning on that anyway, so it's not like anything is lost, it's just that nothing is gained." Mavis said.

"That's almost worse." Not losing anything was all well and good except that you always lost something. If you thought you could gain something and didn't gain it, then you lost something regardless. That was simply how he thought.

"I don't think like that." Mavis told him.

"Then again, we will have to agree to disagree."

"You know, we don't always have to do that. We can argue and still come to an agreement."

"We already came to an agreement. You're the one that's dragging this conversation on longer than it has to be."

Mavis paused and glared at him, "Well I'm sorry if I want to try and get along with the person, I'm saving the world with."

"In the end, it doesn't matter. After this war is finished you will go back to heaven, I will remain in hell, and the both of us will continue to devise schemes. You might own me, Mavis. But you know as well as any that I refuse to be defeated."

"You promised."

"I'm a liar." Zeref said. "Don't you know by now, that you can't trust demons. In the end, you're right about us. We do only look out for ourselves."

"Why are you being like this? I thought that we were getting along."

Zeref was silent. This was what he had to do, this was what he always did when he felt himself becoming too attached to her. This wasn't the first time he'd used this tactic. He would feel emotions start to swell within him and he would push her away, insult her, remind her of their differences and why friendship could never work.

"You always do this." She insisted. "In our brief conversations, any time we start talking, over the lacrima, even when meeting on the battlefield. Anytime I felt, miraculously we were connecting, I feel as though you force yourself to hate me. Why is that? Why can't we just agree?"

"Because we can't! Because you make me angry!"

"Do I really? Or do you feel something you don't recognize and that's what makes you angry."

"Don't pretend you've got me figured out!" But he was only getting more furious because she was right, again…

"Maybe you're angry because I do… come on, why don't you just tell me?"

"Males often have a harder time conversing about their feelings. For some reason it makes them feel weak. Like they aren't supposed to feel what they are." Grandine gave her "professional" opinion.

"That is NOT what's happening!" Zeref insisted, glaring at Grandine so she knew that her opinion wasn't appreciated.

"I see…" Mavis said. "I don't think you weak for having emotions."

"THIS is why I can't stand you! It's because you ignore what I say, not only that but you seem to think that just because you're right sometimes, you think you're right all the time! And you're an angel, an epitome of what it's meant to feel happy!" Zeref shouted. "I hate, your perfect hair, I hate your pure wings, and your sparkling emerald eyes, I hate all of it!"

"Thank you for the compliments."

Zeref blew up, "THEY'RE NOT COMPLIMENTS!"

"Then what, pray tell, are they?"

"They're things I hate about you!" Mavis only gave him a strange look.

"Then why are they nice things? Zeref, I think perhaps you are confusing emotions here."

"And what emotions do you think I'm confusing?"

"I think that you aren't angry at me, you're angry because you don't understand your feelings. I also think that you're confusing hatred with friendship."

"That's not the word I'd use." Grandine grumbled. Mavis ignored her because, to be honest, she didn't want to know what word the woman would use.

Zeref scoffed. "I think I'd know the difference between rivalry and comradery."

"I'm not sure you do, considering those are the words you used." Zeref didn't see anything wrong with the words he'd used.

"Maybe you should take a deep breath and think about this." Mavis continued.

"There's nothing to think about."

"There's everything to think about." Mavis corrected him, "And you're smart enough to know it. Now, why don't we put rage aside. Heaven knows you have quite a lot of it. But if you really want to understand what you're feeling, you can't be angry anymore. Not at anybody."

Not… angry? But Zeref was always angry, angry at everything. And now, when he was about ready to face his worst enemy Mavis was telling him not to feel angry? Just why not? "It all depends on if you want to know what you're feeling."

Zeref paused, "… I want to know what I'm feeling." He said finally. He'd already decided that he shouldn't run away. He'd already decided he was going to be a hero. He'd already made that decision.

So, with great effort Zeref closed his eyes and tried to push his rage aside. "Have you gotten rid of it?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Good, what's left?" Zeref didn't want to tell her. Without the rage Zeref felt fear and nervousness ebb away at him. But that wasn't why he didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to tell her because her name made his heart pound.

"I-I don't know." Was his pathetic answer.

"Then describe to me what's physically happening to you."

"Okay, well, my mind's racing, my palms are sweaty, I feel like hiding and never coming out, and when I hear your voice my heart-rate picks up. That's all." Zeref told her. Mavis was silent for a long time and Zeref was beginning to wonder if he'd said something to upset her.

In the background Grandine was smiling. For once, it had been her that was right. When Zeref opened his eyes, Mavis was in front of him, her green eyes opened wide. "What?" he asked.

"N-nothing…" she said quietly. "Um, I'm afraid that I can't tell you what you're feeling."

"Can't or won't?" Grandine was surprisingly the one who asked.

"Can't." Mavis answered hastily, making Zeref suspect the other option. "I don't know what you're feeling, sorry. I guess we'll just have to figure it out after this." Zeref nodded, still suspicious. "I need you to be focused on defeating your father now." She added.

"Alright…" he said reluctantly.

"Good, then I need that rage back." She didn't have to ask him twice. When the rage flooded back Zeref felt at peace with the world again. Without the rage everything had been very strange. Now that it was back Zeref felt secure again. "Are you ready to keep going?"

"Yes."

"Then come on." Mavis said.

So, they kept walking, unable to fly since they all wanted to stick together. "Hey um, something just occurred to me… again. I was going to ask earlier but then the conversation shifted. Do we know where we're going?" Mavis asked.

"Of course." Zeref grumbled. "Why would I not know where we are going? It's easy to sense my father's evil presence. The only problem before was that I did not know where the dragons were. They seem to be concealing their power."

"We're very adept at it." Grandine said. "Even more so then other creatures."

"But why?" the angel empress wondered.

"Well, our magic is very diverse compared to yours. Ours is more like human magic multiplied. Since we have such different abilities our magical signatures are also very different."

"I don't see what this has to do with being able to conceal magical energy." Mavis said, frowning.

"If you would let me finish. Since our magical signatures are different it's easier to conceal our magical energies." Mavis nodded, wide-eyed.

Zeref snorted. "That's ludicrous. Magical signatures, diversity, that has nothing to do with it. I know you don't want to gloat about how you're more powerful then us, but if you're going to lie, at least make it plausible."

"I thought it was plausible." Grandine commented.

"Maybe to an idio…" Zeref trailed off at the look Mavis was giving him. "Um… I mean that it would sound plausible… to someone who…" Zeref searched his brain for words that wouldn't sound like he was insulting Mavis. "Didn't know any better."

Mavis rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah right. You think I was an idiot not to know that she was lying. Just come out and say it."

Zeref shrugged but he still didn't answer her. Maybe she said he could come out and say it, but what she really meant was that, when he called her an idiot, she would rip his head off. Zeref knew this because of a VERY unfortunate encounter with Anna and a spell book. "I don't think you an idiot. I think you tend to see the best in people, and that leads you astray. Typical of an angel, really." Zeref commented dryly once he'd formulated a response.

"Are we almost there?" Grandine asked before Mavis could respond.

"Yes, I can feel his presence, it's almost become overwhelming. Since that's the case I suggest, before we venture any further, that we perhaps come up with a plan."

"No need. My kin have already formulated a strategy. We've decided that we shall all attack Acnologia. You two included I suppose. Our children are hidden just outside this room to offer some support. For example, if us dragons need more firepower, or if one of you gets wounded then you should head to Wendy who can heal your wounds. It's a failproof strategy. We can't lose, we have all the fire power, the medics, the numbers."

Zeref had to admit that all of that sounded very promising, the only problem with it was the fact that Zeref could never be too sure with his father. Who knows what that snake of a man was hiding. Still, he felt he had no choice but to simply nod. After all, he didn't have any proof as to why the plan would backfire. He didn't think that telling Grandine he had a feeling his father was up to something would be much help.

Zeref knew that his father wasn't stupid, only extremely cocky which often blinded him. "Listen, let's just… let's just proceed with caution." Zeref said quietly.

"Of course. I of all people should know there's no such thing as a failproof strategy." Mavis said. "You must always account for unexpected variables such as the fact the enemy might know your strategy. Having a plan B is essential."

Zeref might've felt better if Mavis had been the one to come up with the strategy. He voiced these opinions. He hated her to an extent, but it wasn't as if he didn't see her exceptional tactician skills. She always organized the attacks, and even though he'd been training since he could walk, she matched him in every area, except forces. She had more forces than he did, which was the main reason they had been losing the war.

To his relief Mavis smirked. "I already have a few strategies."

"A few?" Zeref said doubtfully. Once, in an encounter Mavis had won the battle. Zeref asked how she did it and she had told him she ran through hundreds of possibilities, maybe even thousands.

"A few hundred." Mavis corrected herself. It might be a little less effective since I don't have my planning sheet." Grandine raised an eyebrow. "My planning sheet is in the form of a web. There's a central idea and hundreds of branches that stem from it. It helps me organize my thoughts, leaving room for me to predict my subjects' most likely course of action. In this case, I haven't been warring against Acnologia for years, however if he thinks in a similar way to how Zeref thinks then I fully believe I could predict his movements."

"You do not know the way I think." Zeref protested. Mavis shrugged and said,

"If I don't know how you think then answer the question of how I beat you all the time."

"You do not beat me, and it most certainly is not ALL the time." He argued.

"Ah! Don't argue. Who's the strategist here?" Zeref was loathed to answer. "That's what I thought. Moving onward, if Acnologia thinks like Zeref then he most likely either already knows that you are traitors and has put measures in place to deal with you. OR he trusts you all to the point he would never suspect you. So, since we're formulating a plan B, I'm going to assume the worst and he already knows your plans. Now, to get rid of you he is cocky, but not stupid enough to believe he could take you out on his own. He probably has others, waiting to take you out. OR he has already taken out your friends."

So, Mavis kept talking, assuming the worst-case scenario sometimes and other times making plans for both. Eventually she got to the very worst-case scenario where everyone on the other side of those doors was dead.

"Now that we've assumed the worst, we must take measures to stop him anyway. We cannot rely on anyone but the people here right now. So, with everything here right now, how could we defeat the dragon king?"

"We couldn't." Zeref answered glumly. Mavis frowned and looked thoughtful her green eyes calculating.

"I suppose I'll take the fact that we can't into consideration."

"How do you take the fact we can't beat him into consideration and still come up with a plan to win?" Zeref asked. It was a fair question in his opinion.

"Say, what kind of genius are you?" Mavis asked.

Zeref shrugged. "I wouldn't say genius. I'm smart but I'm not a genius."

"Describe yourself in three words. Honesty is not boasting. Don't hold back."

"Intelligent, patient, enraged."

"I'll say." Mavis snorted. "You are intelligent and have an incredible capacity for memory, if making your way around this castle is anything to go by."

"Perhaps."

"That means that you should be able to remember and comprehend my strategy. Grandine, what about you? Describe yourself in three words." Grandine blinked, not really liking being the center of attention all of a sudden.

"Calm, composed, serene." She said.

"Uh… those all mean the same…" Zeref trailed off as the two had already moved on.

"I see. If that's the case then you're most likely observant, taking in details you don't even realize you're seeing. That's quite a gift." Grandine smiled, not really understanding how she got observant out of calm but taking it as a compliment anyway.

"So, how do our chances look commander?" Zeref asked. Mavis rolled her eyes at the title but said,

"We could die. There's always a possibility that we could die, however, if things go according to plan, we might make it out with all our limbs… if everything goes according to plan."

"Right." Grandine and Zeref said.

"So, uh… what _is_ the plan?" Mavis motioned them closer and whispered the plan quietly, thinking that maybe someone was watching them. The only indication that this could turn out very badly was Mavis's tight grip on Zeref's shoulder, Grandine's lips tightening, and Zeref tensing, his eyes widening slightly.

"That is the riskiest strategy I have ever heard." Zeref said, his voice strained and quiet.

"I know. It's risky and yet it has the best chance of success."

"And you're sure about that?" Zeref asked.

"Who is the battle strategist here?" Mavis asked.

"You are." Zeref grumbled distastefully.

"That's right, therefore I think I would know which strategy has the best chance of success."

"Then let's hope everything goes right." Grandine said, standing up. They were setting up plan B just in case plan A did not go according to plan and Grandine was the first to go in since she was supposed to be the distraction. "If I don't come back, tell Wendy I love her." Grandine said, her hand on the large double doors. The two rulers nodded gravely.

"If we make it out alive and you don't, we will tell her. And if we don't make it out alive then… I'm sure she already knows." Mavis told the woman kindly who smiled and nodded.

Zeref felt a new respect for this woman rise up within him. She was bargaining everything when she didn't have too. She could go on and live as a faithful servant to his father, but she didn't. She put her life on the line to gain her freedom.

At the same time that made him feel a little disgusted with himself. Here she was fighting for the freedom she didn't have too. And here he was giving away freedom when he didn't have to. Even Zeref knew this plan was probably futile and they would all die, but Grandine stuck with it, no fear showing in her eyes.

"We can't win this, can we?" Zeref whispered as Grandine shut the doors softly behind her. "You said this had the best chance of success… what does that mean? What percentage is that."

Mavis's green eyes bored into him. "This plan only has a 35% chance of success." She said softly. "But it's worth it. It's worth it, to fight for your freedom and die, rather then rollover and still die. You know it, we all know it. Every soldier feels it in his blood." Zeref bit his lip.

"35% huh? We never had a chance…" he said.

"35% chance is still a chance no matter how small. There's always a chance, Zeref, we can't give up yet." Mavis whispered. "We can't give up until this war is either won or lost. Tell me Zeref, what happens if we lose?"

"This world isn't worth living in." Zeref stated.

"Then we will win. Or we will die trying." Zeref was silent, not nearly so optimistic. "Listen, I find comfort in the fact that in another world, where I failed, another version of me succeeded."

"And maybe, other worlds can go to hell. Because this is the only world to us. It doesn't matter if there are others out there. Here, it is only this universe. There's a reason it's called that. It's because there's only one. Nothing else that happens matters."

"Perhaps not, but that's what I like to think."

"Then maybe for once you're wrong."

"Or maybe not." Mavis shrugged. "All I'm saying is that we give this last stand our all, and maybe if we do it won't be our last stand."

"Perhaps."

"Yes… perhaps is right. I won't give up so, for me a chance that things could go right is all that's needed to make this world worth living in."

And finally, Zeref didn't argue with what she had said. Perhaps because he had nothing to say, perhaps because he accepted her to be right, or perhaps it was because of the scream that erupted from the other end of the door telling the two that it was very likely that plan A was a failure. Either way, no one would ever know, because at that moment the two sprung into action, tearing open the door and initiating phase two of a plan with only a 35% chance of success. Slim those chances may be, the price of failure was death, and a 35% chance might not be enough to win but in the end, it didn't matter… they would make it be enough.

* * *

 **A/N Almost done with this! There's only about... 6 to 7 more chapters I think? Give or take a few, but I promise this is almost done. Despite how long this has taken this is probably the quickest I have ever produced a story this long. Usually in the middle I have a GINORMOUS case of writer's block and it sucks, but for this story, I've never felt too stuck. I'd have minor cases and put off a new chapter for a couple weeks but usually it takes me months! So, for everyone still bearing with me, thank you so much for reading and thank you to everyone who has supported this story I'm glad you guys are enjoying it. So, the new chapter will be either this weekend or early next week. If you guys enjoyed this chapter feel free to review, or if you had any questions. Follows/favorites appreciated too! So thank you guys and I'll see you soon, bye!**


	14. Chapter 14

Once the door had been pushed open Zeref and Mavis walked through to see four humans, but Zeref assumed they were dragons, and rightly so. He could sense something magical about the beings. Then, he noticed the ropes, and the lashes and Zeref scrunched his eyes shut, tears prickling the corners of them. Grandine was on her knees, her eyes widened in horror and terror. "What have you done." She whispered, over and over again.

"Father." Zeref whispered, his voice low, unsure how he could even still call this man by that title. "Acnologia!"

His father turned, that smirk still spread across his face. "Such disrespect, calling your father by his first name."

"I have a few other words in my arsenal that would describe how I feel about you. And there are more disrespectful things in there than simply calling you by your first name."

Acnologia did not acknowledge this blatant disrespect and asked, "What are you doing here anyway? I thought I locked you up."

"We escaped, obviously." Zeref sneered. Don't be afraid now, he told himself. This was where he needed to be strong. This was where he had to prove he had grown. He would not cower in fear any longer.

"Perhaps, when this is all over, I'll finally teach you the importance of manners." Acnologia commented dryly. "But for now, I'm going to continue what I was doing before you so rudely interrupted."

"And what were you doing?" Zeref asked.

"Teaching my subjects about what it means to betray me, obviously." Acnologia mimicked in the voice Zeref had used only a few seconds ago.

"Father, this isn't necessary! Perhaps we can still make this right."

"Trying to persuade me now that you know you will never defeat me? You disgust me, Zeref. Honestly, I taught you better than this."

Zeref scowled, clenching his hands into fists. "It most certainly is not what you say it is. I'm simply trying to get you to listen to reason. I thought I'd give you one more chance to do the right thing. For, no matter how much I detest it, you will always be my father. And for mother to love you well… you must've been decent at some point."

"Your mother never loved me." Acnologia dismissed the notion. "She loved the danger. Always a risk-taker, that one. She paid the price."

"Is that what this is about?" Zeref asked. "Is that what you're angry about?"

"I'm not angry, boy." Acnologia said, staring Zeref in the eyes. "Don't try to victimize me in that twisted brain of yours."

"I am most certainly not _victimizing_ you. I am giving you motives. Every good villain needs motives."

"My motive is world domination."

"Is it really?"

"Yes." Acnologia replied bluntly.

"Well then, why am I alive?" Acnologia raised an eyebrow.

"Because you made a good point about being my voice. Plus, I promised Invel."

"That's a load of bull!" Zeref exclaimed. "You don't need us. You make people submit to your will. Just look! Up until now you've managed to keep even the dragon race in control! You don't truly need us. Also, we all know you're lying trash so your promise to Invel means squat! How do you explain that? Why would you even include it in your reasons? Considering it means nothing to you."

"What, pray tell, are you insinuating?"

"That you care. Care that I live. Is it because I have angel and demon blood? Or some other reason."

"What do you want, boy."

"Why don't you destroy us now? We're easy targets, and you're so powerful."

"Just… JUST SHUT UP!" he roared, Acnologia's eyes alight with rage. "Let me think."

Zeref was silent. Mavis had told him to push Acnologia, but not too hard. That could get them killed.

"Okay." Acnologia said after a 2-minute pause. "I don't kill you now because I don't feel like it. I don't care. And, I don't even have to answer you!"

"No, you don't." Zeref answered. "So, do we just draw our blades and fight to the death? That seems rather barbaric, father."

"We are demons, son. We are barbaric by nature."

"No. We're barbaric by society."

"Whatever. The point is that we don't have to fight to the death. You could give up… but you won't, I know. You're stubborn, after all. Even after all the torture, you wouldn't die."

"No, I wouldn't. Why is that father? If you had truly wanted me dead, you could've done it from the very first session."

"Death was not my intention. Fear was, respect was, discipline was. It's how we do things. My father for me, his father for him, his father for him, and so on."

"So, it's because you don't know better?"

Acnologia licked his lips. "No. It's because I believe it's the best form of discipline. Your mother has told me alternatives from the first bruise, but that didn't stop me. You're not a delicate female angel. You're a male demon! You're raised like one! And I won't have you weak and… and… angel-like!"

"And if you dislike angels so strongly, why did you marry mother?"

"She was a pretty specimen. Even demons need something pretty."

"You saw her as an object?"

"Naturally."

Zeref appeared to be growing irritated, because no matter how far he dug he couldn't find any redeeming qualities. But this plan required him to have those qualities. "You never loved her? Then why so eager to marry when you found she was pregnant?"

"Well, son, I needed an heir. Not even I can live forever."

"That's the only reason?"

"What other reason do you want there to be?" Acnologia asked. Zeref tried to keep his face neutral but it was obvious irritation showed on his face because his father's smirk widened, ever-so-slightly. "Is it possible you wish for something else? Such as, decency? I haven't a shred of decency boy, so you better stop yankin' my chain."

"What about me? Am I an object?"

"No. You're my son, not a pretty angel thing. Despite the fact that you came from her, you're my son. You're exactly like me."

"I'm nothing like you!" Zeref shouted, before biting his lip. "Listen, father, this is the war of the century."

"Agreed."

"So, what do you say we finish it?"

"It would be the quickest war ever fought." said Acnologia. "But it would be the bloodiest."

"Indeed." Zeref said. "But I have no desire to fight you."

"Because you would lose." Acnologia reasoned.

"Precisely." Zeref said, but it was through gritted teeth. "So, what about a competition."

"Childish." Acnologia said yawning.

"Perfect." Zeref said. "It will include fighting though."

"Will I be _allowed_ to kill you?" Acnologia asked mockingly.

"No, you will not." Zeref said. "But, if you must, you may render me unconscious."

"So, you're my opponent?"

"Naturally." Zeref said. Acnologia seemed to consider this for a moment. "You could kill me off right now. But… what's the fun in that?"

"Hm… you are correct, I suppose. That would be no fun… so, if I decide to participate in this competition, what will be my prize when I win."

"If you win this competition… you win everything."

"So, I'd get everything I'd get if I killed you now?"  
"Everything but one. If you win, you can kill me, but if you desire, I will do one thing of your choosing. Anything at all."  
"Anything hmm? My, my, that is interesting. And I do like to be entertained… and it's not like I could lose."

His cockiness will be his downfall, Zeref reminded himself… hopefully. "Well, alright. If that's the way you want to do it son, then fine. I accept."

"Good." Everything was going according to plan so far, but at any moment something could go very wrong.

"So, how many rounds?" Acnologia asked.

"I believe three is the standard amount."

"Is that so? Well, in that case, I'll be gracious and let you pick first, even though you are the challenger."

"Very well." Zeref said evenly. "Then the challenge I pick is a game to see which of us is smarter." Acnologia snorted and rolled his eyes. This challenge, to him, seemed weak. Though, it was a crucial part of their plan. They needed to know how smart he was. For, even Zeref himself had no idea how much potential his father did or did not have.

"So, how do we play this game, son?"

"Well, this is going to be settled by a game of chess."

"Oh really?" Acnologia said. "How predictable.

"Ah, don't say that before you've heard the entirety of the game. This is magical chess. We are each the king of our nation, fighting a real war. There are several explanations in store. But first thing's first. The rules. Each kingdom will start out with the same amount of money, same resources, same amount of citizens, same amount of everything. You will decide where to place your pieces, obviously. And unlike chess there is a limit to how much damage you can do. A pawn, for example has 40 hit points. Whereas the queen has double that. The rules for how the pieces are moved are still the same, as is an attack."

"What about damage?"

"Ah yes, damage. Each piece comes with its own set of attacks. A pawn can do twenty points damage with a hit, a queen can do double."

"So, one hit from the queen to the pawn… and the pawn dies."

"Correct, but no matter, pawns are meant to be sacrificed. Anyway, back to the explanation. After five rounds there will be a rain check. Food, supplies, money."

"Yeah so, how much hunger depletes per round? How much food do I need to feed the army? How can I get more?"

"This board is far bigger than normal chess board. There are different sectors, different climates, villages. You get all the things you need like how you get them in real life. Each soldier is paid for his service and you can go to town to buy food or hunt them yourself. If you choose to hunt you can get more food, however there's also a chance you may get nothing."

"Risk… so, how do you know if you catch something."

"A percentile. You roll a dice. A D-6, anything from 1-3 you catch something 4-6, nothing. If you get a 1 you catch something really good, enough to feed the whole army. 2 you feed half. 3 you feed a quarter. If you get food from the village you can get enough to feed half your army guaranteed. Hunting is free, risky, but free. Village food costs money, about $300, but you're guaranteed food."

"Weapons?"

"Oh yes, you can upgrade armor and weapons, but again it costs money. There are three armors and swords. We start out level 1, level three is the best, but pretty expensive, not sure if it's worth it. Level 2 armor and swords cost 10,000, level 3, 30,000."

"That much for armor and sword for one person?"

"No, again, you roll a percentile on a D-6. Same for the food. 1-enough for the army, 3- a quarter, and so on. Also, buying food and supplies costs money, but it also costs a turn."

"So, what about hunger? How often does everyone get hungry?"

"After 1 rain check they're hungry. 2, they're starving. 3, they're unable to continue and will die on rain check 4. So, you have to keep track of all this, while also staging attacks and defeating me. I suppose you'll also want stats for the pieces?" Acnologia nodded. "Queens are the strongest pieces. They have 80 hit points and can do 40 damage. Knights have 60 hit points, but they can do 45 damage. Rooks have 50 hit points and can do 35 damage. Bishops have 45 hit points and can do 35 damage. Pawns have 40 hit points and can do 20 damage. Each time they upgrade to another level of armor or swords their original damage/hit points increases by ten. Normally in a chess set, there's 32 pieces, but since this board's so big I've decided to double that. Now then, we each start out 50,000 dollars. Do you have any questions?"

"No." Acnologia said quietly, deeply enthralled now, and eager to play the game. It was a very elaborate set-up and his son had thought of all this. He had seemed to think of everything, but they would see once they actually got playing.

"Very good." Zeref said, a smirk slowly crossing his face. Magic filled the room and a transparent game board appeared in the middle of the room. Everything was going to plan, and Acnologia wasn't aware of it. Everything would turn out in his favor. Even if Acnologia one the fight, which he would no doubt choose when it was his turn. Zeref would win round 3 and 1, of course. He would win 2/3. And of course, he didn't expect his father to actually give up peacefully, that was what the sword was for. But in the end, it didn't really matter. The competition was merely a distraction. Mavis and the dragons would escape and regroup and when they came back, they would bring the army and they would have enough defenses to destroy his father. In the end, it didn't matter if he won or not, but he would still give it his all, because it wouldn't be fun otherwise, and he had to do this long enough for Mavis to do what they had planned. That was why he wore this expression when saying quietly,

"Let the games begin."

* * *

 **A/N I'm so sorry for the short chapter, but I wasn't even sure if I was going to get one out this week so... anyway, I made the game up (I'm not sure if anyone else has thought of it or has done something similar, but this came from my brain.) with the help of the original game of chess of course. I guess I really didn't have to explain all the rules considering these games aren't too important but I thought it was interesting so I did it. Anyway we are SO close, thanks for sticking with me. Again, only a few more chapters (I think since I'm not finished.) I hope I didn't leave anything out for the games, and I tried really hard, but I still might've forgotten things. Anyway, thanks for reading, reviews/favorites/follows are appreciated and you make me very happy. Thanks to my guest reviewer and KYAAAA I'm glad you like it. Alright, I'll see you guys next week! Bye!**


	15. Chapter 15

As soon as Mavis saw the board go up, she knew that it was time to act. Grandine was still on the floor, looking heartbroken, even though Mavis had prepared her for the worst. In the end, she ignored the woman and quickly ran over to the four other dragons. This was her opportunity to help them, and she wasn't going to miss it.

Nimbly, she grabbed the keys that Acnologia had left on a hook, and spread her wings, flying the extra few feet upward so that she could reach the manacles. The first one she saved was a red-haired man. He looked the worst, angry wounds running across his body. Thankfully this time, they had clothes on, unlike Zeref. Mavis undid one chain and hooked her arm under his torso, before doing the other so she could gently lower him to the ground.

Once there, he remained unmoving and Mavis hoped he wasn't dead. She then, moved to unchain the rest of them in the same manner. Mavis turned to Grandine after she was finished and whispered, "So, can we get them out of here two at a time? Can you carry them?" Grandine shook her head,

"I don't know, but I can try." Grandine did, with a lot of difficulty, manage to drag the blonde across the room. Mavis, from the corner of her eye, saw a figure run out across the floor. Mavis almost attacked, but then she recognized the figure,

"Let me help you." Wendy said, rushing over to help her mother.

"Hey! They told us not to come out unless they called us!" Another voice hissed from somewhere within the dark shadows of the room.

"Well it's obviously to late now, idiot." Another grumbled. Finally, the darkness melted away to reveal three other children,

"Hey, you're those kids." Mavis said.

"Yeah, and you're that angel." Sting mocked rudely. Grandine scowled at him,

"Sting be nice. What would your father say?" Sting stared at her causing Grandine to raise an eyebrow, "What would he say?" she demanded again.

Sting sighed, "Sting, you can't be rude to people and if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all…"

"And?"

"And if you don't get these lessons through your thick skull soon, one day all the mean things you say now will come back and bite you because… um… because what goes around comes around." He finished, looking a little proud of himself for remembering everything his father would say.

"Yes, that's exactly what he would say." Grandine said approvingly. Sting smiled and nodded, "So heed his warnings!" she added a slight reprimand on her tongue. Sting didn't smile as widely but he still nodded.

"Yes, miss Wendy's mom."

"Why don't you four grab him," Mavis said, getting back to business, pointing at one of the fallen. "I'll take two, and Grandine, you keep carrying him, you're doing great."

"Thank you, dear." Grandine said with a smile. Mavis nodded, and they all started moving towards the door. Thankfully, Acnologia was too invested in his game to notice them. Zeref, however, caught her eye and gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Mavis returned the gesture and quickly made her way out the door.

"What are we going to do?" she asked Grandine as they went along the hallways. "We had accounted for the fact that they'd be injured, not incapacitated…" the dragons were a crucial part of Mavis's plan.

"Perhaps we aren't the only ones who wish to be free of Acnologia's rule. Perhaps there are others with the same hope." Mavis frowned and shook her head,

"Somehow, I don't think so. I'm not willing to take the chance that it isn't what they want, and we get obliterated by dragons, effectively making Zeref's distraction… well, ineffective."

"I understand. But what other choice do we have? We can't do it ourselves…"

"Yes, we can. We'll just roundup the armies. But with out the demon king, how can we be sure that the demon army would listen to us? I'm an angel, and you're a dragon which is probably even worse right now"

Mavis and Grandine were silent for a while, but suddenly Mavis got an idea, "I think I know who can help us."

"Really?" Grandine asked.

"Yes, follow me." Mavis said. It took them a very long time to find the exit, and in the end, they didn't really find it, but Gajeel and Sting made their own exit… Mavis hoped Zeref didn't mind holes in his castle walls, but knowing him, he probably did mind.

They made their way out of the "exits" and outside was complete and utter mayhem. This was what war looked like. Several thousands of people outside, simply slaughtering each other. Mavis felt her heart rate speed up at such a gruesome and horrible sight.

"I can't believe this." She whispered softly. Even her own people were brutally cutting their enemies down. "Stop!" she screamed. But over the screams and slashes of battle no one could hear her. "STO-."

"Leave this to me." Grandine said softly. In the midst of battle, while angels and demons were supposed to be working together to destroy dragons the two races had obviously not been willing to set aside their differences so easily. Now, everyone was warring with each other in a battle royal, whoever was left standing was the winner.

"Alright." Mavis answered Grandine. After a few minutes a massive white dragon took the place of where Grandine had been. The dragon roared into the sky, much more massive then any of the others. It got everyone's attention, at least.

"Everyone stop!" Mavis shrieked. Her entire army stopped attacking, simply staring at her, awaiting her instructions. Demons also stopped, but it was more from shock and surprise than from wishing to obey her.

"We no longer have to fight each other. Our only true enemy is Acnologia! He is the only one we should be fearing, the only one who we should be working to destroy! Killing each other is needless!"

"You say that, but who cares? You're not our ruler!" Someone, presumably a demon, called from the background.

"No, I'm not. But your ruler has sided with me as you very well know! We're all working together. I have no quarrel with you, so let's just drop our past differences so we can work together, because if we don't, we could all end up dead and then nobody wins!" she shouted. "Zeref is trying very hard and risking his life in there so that we can all group together to defeat Acnologia! Alright? Don't let all his effort go to waste!"

"We can't trust you!" another yelled. Mavis was silent for a while as she scanned the densely populated crowd her eyes landed on someone in particular. Thankfully, he stood out against all the black-haired or red-haired demons.

"Maybe not." Mavis said, "But you can trust him." she pointed through the crowd at the person she wanted. Slowly, everyone parted out of the way so that the person she was pointing at was revealed.

Invel stood there, looking around before raising an eyebrow at her, "Me?"

"Well, of course you! How many other demons do I know?"

"Three." Invel said as Mavis shot him a glare. "… Oh, that was a rhetorical question."

"Yeah, it was." Mavis sighed. "Anyway, tell them that the demon lord is working together with me, and that it is his wish to defeat his father more than anything else at the moment."

"… It's true. He'd rather defeat his father than the angels of heaven at this time." The demons all murmured amongst themselves, still glaring at Mavis, not trusting her in the least.

"Well… if Invel says it is, then it must be true." She heard several conversations but could only catch on to a few sentences. They all seemed to be agreeing with Invel's statement, which was good. Now, there were only the dragons to convince, but she left that to Grandine.

The dragon seemed to be succeeding too, though that was no surprise. She had a very soothing and persuasive voice.

At last everyone seemed to agree that Acnologia was the biggest threat at the moment and they all agreed they could go back to hating each other after he was defeated. Mavis was just glad that there would be no complications in this stage. That would be utterly disastrous. "Alright, since we are all in agreement, come on, we have to get there!" she cried, turning around. "Preferably before the second round of their games." She muttered as an afterthought.

Meanwhile, Zeref and Acnologia were getting started, readying to play their little game. "Since I challenged you and picked the game. I believe it's only fair that you go first." Zeref said.

"Very well." Acnologia said and moved one pawn away his kingdom. Zeref's eyes were trained on his father, watching his every move and thinking about where he should move his pawn. Several strategies came to mind. He could play it safe or risky. He wasn't sure which would have the greater benefit. "I'm waiting, boy." Acnologia said, smirking.

Zeref decided to move his pawn in the end. A perfectly safe maneuver. There wouldn't be much action happening until their pieces actually met on the battle field. And since the board was so big, it would take a lot of turns. But Zeref was okay with a slow game. It only meant that in the end, the battle would be over quickly.

As they danced across the board, barely clashing at first, more worried about leveling up their armies, and keeping them well-fed, Acnologia, taking risks with hunting for food, and Zeref, deciding to play it safe and buy food from the village. Half was better than a quarter, after all.

"Son, you never did like to take risks." Acnologia said, shaking his head as if disappointed. Zeref rolled his eyes and knocked down one of Acnologia's rooks.

"You know, father, sometimes taking risks can lead you into awful circumstances."

"And most of the time, they lead you into success." Zeref did not bother to comment on how awfully wrong that statement was.

"If you say so, father." Zeref said.

"I do."

"Well then, if you're so fond of risks why aren't you taking any? Besides the hunting you're being very careful about where your placing your pawns."

"Is that so? My, aren't you observant." Zeref shrugged,

"It's a gift." He said.

"Alright, well, if that's the case then I suppose you could say that when it comes to you, son, I'm rather cautious." Zeref narrowed his eyes,

"I see… father, I'm curious about something…"

"Curiosity killed the cat." Acnologia responded. Zeref smiled slightly,

"And satisfaction brought him back… father, that is a human saying, I'm surprised you know of it." Zeref knew because some of the humans in the castle used phrases such as that, though the first time he'd heard the phrase he had been rather confused.

Acnologia shrugged, "Well, I decided that if I was going to ruler Earth I might as well be aware of some of silly sayings that humans come up with."

"Right… so, I wanted to ask you, um… did you feel happy? When, um… you know." Acnologia stared at him blankly for the longest time, not moving, despite the fact that it was his turn. "Tortured me." Zeref elaborated.

"Oh…" Acnologia said, realization finally making it's way on to his features. "No, I didn't feel happy per say, but I didn't have a problem with it either."

"I was a helpless child… how could you do that to me?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're still helpless."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Hm…" Acnologia looked to be contemplating, "I suppose it's not, I just thought you should know."

Zeref sighed and said, "Well, it's your turn." Acnologia moved his piece, taking out one of Zeref's. Zeref internally cursed himself. How could he have done something so stupid.

"So… you don't think what you did was wrong in any way?"

"Uh… no." Acnologia said matter-of-factly.

"I can't believe you!" Zeref shouted, and would've banged his fists on the table, had it not been intangible. That said, his fists did slam down on his knees, making him flinch slightly.

"Why not? You've believed me perfectly fine for the last ten years."

"Yeah, because you weren't here! How can you do this to me? I'm your son and yet you want to kill me!"

"I don't _want_ to kill you. Believe me, if I did, you'd be dead. But I can't ignore the fact that _you're_ trying to kill _me_!" Acnologia said. "You're forcing my hand, son. It's not like I can let a traitor live."

Zeref let out a breath, "And what if I somehow, by a stroke of luck, win. You think I'm going to kill you?"  
"Well, if by a stroke of luck, you _did_ win, then yes, I do."

"Well I-." Zeref cut himself off. He'd never actually thought about it. He'd always assumed that he'd just know what to do. But he didn't, he never had, and now, asked about what his decision would be… Zeref just didn't know. It was true, that his father had killed a lot of innocent people, hurt a lot of innocent people but… at the end of the day, he was still Zeref's father. And at that moment, a horrible memory resurfaced in his mind.

* * *

It was midnight in the castle, Zeref had to have been about seven, and despite it being so late, Zeref was awake, in his bed. He was unable to go to sleep, gripped by fear that an angel would burst out of his closet and eat him alive like in the stories his daddy told him. His mommy had said that's not what angels did but Zeref wasn't inclined to believe her.

So, eventually, even though he knew he'd probably get in trouble if anyone found out Zeref got out of bed and went downstairs. He wasn't supposed to roam the castle at night because he might get lost, but what his parents didn't know was that he'd already memorized the patterns of his castle. He hadn't even needed a map to do so.

As Zeref was walking he heard a small noise coming from the corridor on his left. Zeref wasn't supposed to go down that hallway either, but he had never been good at following directions. He was a bit scared that there was an angel, but as he peeked into the training room where the guards trained (obviously) all he saw was his father. Zeref knew he should probably sneak back to bed before his father noticed his presence, but when the floorboards creaked under his feet, Zeref knew it was too late. Too late to pretend he hadn't been watching. So, Zeref decided to do what any child in his situation, caught doing what he wasn't supposed to, would do. He pretended to be sleep-walking.

Acnologia raised an eyebrow, his expression amused as his son walked into the room, his eyes shut, muttering incoherent things under his breath. Slowly, his eyes opened like he'd been awakening from being asleep and he asked, "What am I doing here?" like he was surprised. "Daddy?"

"Were you, by any chance, sleep walking?"

"Why, that would be the only explanation, considering I'm not supposed to be here… and I would never break the rules."

"Is that so? You know how your mother feels about lying." Zeref bit his lip,

"But she would never have to know! Not if you didn't tell her."

"Hm… perhaps I could be bribed into covering for you."

"Bribe? I don't have anything to bargain with."

"Oh, but you do. Remember those knife-lessons you and your mother keep refusing?" Zeref nodded,

"You take those classes and get your mother to agree and this endeavor will be between us." Zeref considered, his brows furrowed in concentration.

If he'd known what kind of a mess accepting his father's proposition would bring, he never would've done it. But then again, he didn't know. And Zeref didn't want to be grounded so he agreed. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Splendid! Just you wait, I'll teach you how to fight like a demon." Acnologia said, scooping Zeref up in his arms.

"Okay…" Zeref said. He was apprehensive, but not blatantly against learning. Acnologia carried Zeref up the stairs, putting him back to bed. Zeref was much readier to sleep now then he had been, just that little trip enough to make him exhausted. "I love you, daddy." Zeref remembered saying, wrapping his small arms around his father's neck.

Acnologia sighed and nodded. "I know." Zeref didn't even notice that his father had not said those words back. "Go to sleep now, son." Acnologia said.

And Zeref promptly did as he was told. What he did not remember from this encounter, or it was more accurate to say he didn't nor could've known what was said after he was asleep,

"I love you too, my son."

Acnologia often found himself saying this when Zeref could not hear it. So, it gave the illusion that the words had never been said, when in reality, they had.

* * *

"I honestly don't know why you're giving me such grief about this." Acnologia said. "You did something wrong, I punished you. That's normal. And yes, I know that I went harder on you than is usual, but that's only to be expected. You're a prince, after all."

Zeref growled lowly under his breath, unable to believe this. His father acted like he had done nothing wrong, maybe he didn't think he had. Maybe, by demon standards, he hadn't. Maybe, if he'd had a demon mother… maybe getting those punishments would've been normal. Maybe they only seemed harsh because his mother did, indeed, coddle him. Maybe, he'd be dead now. "It was never my intention to kill you, Zeref. It was punishment, that's all."

"I remember Porlyusica telling my mother that the only reason I was alive was because I was lucky."

"Have you ever considered that you are not lucky, but that you lived because I willed it? Zeref…" Acnologia sighed as Zeref moved his queen to knock one of Acnologia's pieces. "Listen, you want to know why you're still alive? Why I kept you around?"

"Oh, do tell. As you know, I love stories."

"Well, you see… it's because you're my son. You would've been dead on our first fight if I had wanted it."

"And what about Mavis? Why's she still alive?"

"That girl is probably the luckiest angel I have ever come across. Plus, the fact that it would look suspiciously like affection if I killed her and not you."

Zeref snorted, "I would hardly call that affection." Acnologia shrugged,

"Rumors, they're nasty."

"So, you kept me around… because you care?"

"Now, those were not my words, but that's the gist of it, yes." Zeref frowned,

"I see… if given the choice to change what you did, would you?" Acnologia actually looked to be contemplating.

"I don't think so… but maybe." Acnologia shrugged, "I guess, I never realized how fragile your mother made you. Or maybe, you were just born that way. Regardless, I suppose that I was too hard on you, considering how obviously scarred you are by the experience."

"I have PTSD because of you…" Zeref said, though it didn't come out as angry as he'd intended.

"A human condition? Honestly." Acnologia grumbled, shaking his head.

"Sometimes, I can't believe you're my father."

"And sometimes, I can't believe you're my son… but… I love you anyway." Zeref didn't even have time to gasp or cry out in anger before the two heavy doors burst open, revealing an entire army of angels, demons, and dragons, combined in order to defeat Acnologia, whom Zeref wasn't sure if he hated anymore… or if he'd ever hated him to begin with.

"So, this game was distraction, eh?"

"You didn't really think I'd chance it, did you?"

"I'll admit I did expect a trick, but nothing quite so underhanded." Acnologia said.

"Yeah, well…" Zeref grumbled. The table disappeared, their game forever unfinished, but Zeref didn't mind that.

"Alright, well then. I suppose I'll have to get nasty too." In one swift motion Acnologia padded across the room and grabbed the back of Zeref's collar, pulling him to his chest. Zeref, at first thought he was being embraced (no matter how unlikely) but it became apparent quickly, that he was a hostage. "Come any closer and he's dead."

"Hey, I thought you said-!"

"Come on, kid, really? You believed that speech?" Zeref didn't want to admit that he had. "Well, even if I meant it or not, that doesn't mean I'm giving up on this war."

Zeref struggled, though not hard. He knew it would be impossible for him to escape his father's grasp. The angels didn't look perturbed by his threats, nor did the dragons. But all the demons in the room started cursing and demanding he be released. Even Mavis looked worried about him, which was probably the most surprising of all. "Let him go!" she demanded.

"Hm… let me think about it, no!" Acnologia said, barely pausing. "I think it's time for a new game, because this has been oh so interesting. I haven't had this much fun in a while. If you find where I'm going to be hiding him," Acnologia pointed to Zeref, "Then I will give up, once and for all. You have 5 hours. If you don't complete this task, I will kill him before killing all of you."

"Give us a hint." Mavis said.

"Hm… I could do that… but I won't." Acnologia cackled and glanced back down at his struggling son. "Anyway, I believe this one could learn some more manners." At that, Zeref froze. "Maybe he needs correction? Do you need that, little one?"

Zeref rapidly shook his head. "Good. Then I will be expecting you to behave and cooperate." Acnologia said, almost as if he were talking to a stubborn child (which in a way he was).

Then Acnologia turned back to the army of misfits and smirked. "Five hours to find your precious demon lord. I _will_ be waiting." Then, he was gone, disappearing like he was never there in the first place. And he had taken Zeref with him. Mavis stared at the spot where they had been standing moments before. This was not supposed to happen. This was not part of the plan. She supposed that this was what you would call complications… complications that she had been too stupid to consider.

Now, she only had 5 hours to find Zeref or they were all dead. She needed a new strategy but couldn't think with everyone scared and running around like humans with their head cut off. Mavis pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to come up with a strategy that was sure to save them all… only… for the first time in her life, Mavis was at a loss of what to do. For the first time she wasn't sure if her strategies could lead them to victory… and if she was doubting her capabilities then the war may already, have been lost.

* * *

 **A/N I hope you enjoyed this and a little bit more insight into Zeref's childhood. It was a rather cute scene for me to write, which is what I needed. A break from all this stupid tragedy and so much angst. At the beginning Acnologia was supposed to be a heartless monster, because that's all that was portrayed from him in the manga. But I find myself incapable as it seems rather two-dimensional, or in other words, flat XD I want to humanize him a little more now, as he loves Zeref in his own twisted way, and he truly doesn't see anything wrong with the discipline he imposed, which is perhaps even scarier. If Zeref hadn't had Anna as a mother, perhaps things would've been different, perhaps it would've been normal, as it might be for most demons. Anyway enough with that rambling, thank you for reading, thanks for the reviews, I am almost done about 5 chapters left. Reviews/favorites/follows appreciated. Thanks and I'll see you either Sunday or next Thursday! Bye!**


	16. Chapter 16

Zeref and Acnologia appeared in Zeref's bedroom, making Zeref slightly nervous. His bedroom was a private space and Zeref was not prepared for anyone but he and Invel to be inside. "Your room's a mess." Acnologia commented.

"Sorry." Zeref grumbled. "I wasn't exactly expecting company."

"So, you think they're going to find you in here?"

"With you hiding me? Probably not. I bet you got some dirty things planned." Zeref said, scowling.

"You know me very well." Acnologia grinned.

"I suppose I do." Zeref crossed his arms and sat down on his bed. "You're truly only giving them five hours? To find me in this maze?"

"Well, I have to be guaranteed a win. It doesn't truly matter. They win, they die. They lose, they die." he shrugged. "It's just more fun if I get to see their faces when they know they've lost."

"You are unbearably cruel." Zeref said, his scowl deepening.

"It's a gift." He replied, smirking.

Meanwhile, Mavis and everyone else were trying to formulate a plan to save Zeref. "It's virtually impossible to win." Mavis said. "You see, even if we find Zeref, he's never going to give up. That's just the kind of man he is." Mavis warned them.

"Well if it's virtually impossible to win, then why even try?" Sting asked.

"Sting!" Grandine said, her mouth dropping open in indignation.

"No, he's right." Mavis said. "Your right. So, maybe we should just give up."

Sting didn't say anything else, simply stared as if wondering if she was serious. "Are you serious?" he finally asked.

"Are you?" she countered. Sting slowly shook his head,

"No… I just feel like being negative right now." He said with a sigh.

"That's okay, we're all feeling a little negative. But, instead of spouting those things why don't you keep them to yourself and then spout the positive things you think of, to help us feel like it's not quite so hopeless." Mavis encouraged. Sting nodded, wringing out his hand, frowning. "Okay, this strategy… it's going to be tough to pull off, but if we play our cards right, it just might work."  
"You haven't explained the plan to us yet." Gajeel commented, crossing his arms.

"Alright, here's the plan. It's the best I've got so don't go griping about how it sucks. This is the only possible way we can win, got it?" Everyone whom she could see nodded.

"Alright, so first, we have to find Zeref, before anything else can happen, we have to know where he is." Mavis said, staring at them intently and then she relayed the entire plan to them.

Acnologia sat back in his chair and laughed. "Do they really think they can beat me that way? I guess they didn't account for the fact that I was watching them."

Zeref was sure that Mavis had accounted for the fact that Acnologia was watching. She wasn't stupid enough to believe that his father would leave them to their own devices. But what Zeref didn't know was just how she planned to trick his father, and if it would work. Regardless, Zeref found himself actually rooting for the angel empress which was not something he'd ever thought he'd do. But right now, anything was better than being stuck in this room with only his father for company. "Mavis isn't stupid." Zeref found himself saying. "She'll beat you. She knows you'll play dirty, she'll account for it." Acnologia rolled his eyes,

"Oh, and I bet she accounted for me taking you hostage too, didn't she?" Zeref was silent. She probably had, but if that was so, she hadn't told him about it and for some reason that hurt slightly. Like she couldn't trust him…

Zeref knew that they were supposed to hate each other and they had every right to, but now she knew things about him that not even Natsu knew, and that was a little bit scary. "Maybe she did, maybe she didn't… I don't know. She probably did, but she didn't tell me."  
"And why do you think that is? Maybe because she doesn't trust you."

"Or maybe because she didn't want to worry me about something I didn't need to worry about."

"Perhaps if she'd told you, you could've prepared and escaped, but since she didn't prepare you, that's what landed you in this mess." Zeref scowled at him,

"Don't try to turn me against her. It won't work. We don't even know if she accounted for it. Maybe she was just as blind-sided by a stupid move as I was."

"Well, son, I would hardly call it stupid." Acnologia said, looking slightly offended. "I'm just trying to have some fun is all. Since when did having fun break the rules?"

"Since it meant being a sadistic scumbag." Acnologia shrugged,

"If you say so, but I would hardly call this sadistic. I'm giving them a chance to win instead of killing them all. The only way it could be sadistic would be if you thought I was delaying the inevitable which means…" Acnologia glanced at him, and evil glint in his eye. "That means that you don't believe in them." He said, smirking slightly.

"No! No I… stop messing with my head! Just don't talk to me, because I certainly don't want to talk to you!"

"And yet you're the one who initiated this conversation. I merely made a comment and then you jump in accusing me of being wrong thus starting this little argument."

Zeref did not give him the satisfaction of answering. Answering this obvious jibe would only prove Acnologia right. Something that Zeref was not inclined to do. "I see… fine, be rude." Acnologia said. "It's not like I care." Zeref rolled his eyes.

"You think that's going to work?"  
"You just talked to me, didn't you? So, I'd say… yes, I did think that was going to work." Zeref stared at him for a long time and then started scowling, angry with himself for proving his father right. It was infuriating, how others played him so easily, especially his father.

"I would tell you to go to hell, but you're already here." Zeref grumbled. Acnologia's smirk widened slightly and he turned back to watching Mavis and the others. Zeref had to admit it was a little amusing to see them running around, and it would have amused him greatly had they not been running around because of the situation. "How much longer do they have?" Acnologia shrugged,

"How should I know? I'm not really counting. I'll go kill them when I get bored of seeing them run around looking for you." Zeref gritted his teeth together and clenched his fists.

"You are impossible."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"So?"

Zeref sighed, "Why do I even try?"

Meanwhile, Mavis, Grandine, and everyone else were getting to work. Mavis knew that Acnologia was probably watching them, so the plan she'd given was a fake. Really she was using a tiny bit of magic to send them the real instructions. The first step, was to recruit as many people as they could. Even staff in the castle, who were not very powerful, were needed for the plan to succeed. They had all split up and Mavis found herself in the west wing, searching. "Anna!" she called loudly, hoping Anna could hear her.

After a few minutes of searching Mavis found her sitting in the library a book in her hand like a war wasn't raging at her front gates. "Anna…" Mavis said, her tone slightly relieved. "Anna, we need your help." Anna turned to her a small frown on her face. Slowly she slid a book mark into the page she had been reading and set down the book.

"Mavis… I haven't seen you in quite a long time. You've certainly grown into a beautiful young woman." Mavis blushed slightly from the compliment, nodding.

"Thank you, Anna… I assume that you're aware that war is happening."

"How could I not?"

"Well… we need your help. Not just your help, everyone's help. Zeref has been taken hostage by Acnologia and we only have five hours to find him… you're the only one besides Zeref with knowledge of Acnologia… Please help us."

"I don't know what you want." Anna said. "Acnologia was a very secretive man."

"I didn't know that… come on, you guys were married for like… 23 years, I'm sure you know something."

"Unless you mean favorite foods, pastimes, interests, likes/dislikes, then I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Uh… fears."

"Fears?" Anna closed her eyes, concentrating. "Hm… he was rather against fears but… oh yes," she said opening her eyes, "There was this one fear, never got over it to my knowledge." She said.

Mavis's eyes practically lit up. This was exactly what she needed. "Yes?" she asked eagerly. Anna was laughing slightly,

"He, he was always afraid of the dark… always. That's why I have my own separate room. He had to keep the lights on and I couldn't sleep that way, so I left."

"The dark…" Mavis deadpanned.

"Well, it is a childhood fear, what did you expect? A fear of death? Kids run out in the middle of the road just to catch a butterfly, they have no fear of death… until they're dead, that is." Mavis sighed,

"How am I gonna do that, huh?" Anna shrugged.

"You wanted fears, I gave you fears, I never said that I would help you execute those fears."

"The dark, huh?" Zeref wondered, staring at the screen. "I would laugh if you weren't glaring at me, holding a knife to my throat so that I if I laughed I would be cut. But just so you know… I'm laughing on the inside."

Acnologia's scowl deepened. "I am not afraid of the dark anymore, that was a long time ago!"

"Oh really? Then I dare you to turn off the lights in here for the rest of however long we're in here."

"How old are you, ten?"

"Technically, yes. I am one and I am two and three and four and five, and so are you." Zeref shrugged. "Just because it's in the past, doesn't mean it's gone. For example, yesterday, you were here and today… you're still here. It's the same for birthdays. Just because I happened to be ten, thirteen years ago, doesn't mean that I'm not still ten today."

"Shut up, just shut up. You are utterly pitiful."

Zeref tilted his head, "Are you grumpy because I'm pitiful?" slowly a smirk, an evil smirk, one to rival Acnologia's, spread across his face, "Or because you are."

"I should cut your throat open."

"But you won't, that'll only prove to me that you really are afraid of the dark."

"You want to die in the dark? Fine!" Acnologia said walking over to the light and turning it off. "There." He said. "Are you convinced?"  
"Just because you've turned the lights of and haven't screamed does not mean you aren't scared, it only means that you're screaming on the inside. Besides, turning off the lights to prove me wrong, is only proven that you are bothered by my accusations, meaning that I am right."

"Wha—that's not right!"

"I have the freedom of speech. It says so in the constitution."

"The HUMAN constitution. Here, it's, do as your told or die!"

"You know, I've been thinking about making a constitution."

"You what!"

Zeref didn't deem it necessary to answer. "I can't believe this." Acnologia grumbled, "And fine, since you don't believe me about the being in the dark thing, then I'm turning the lights back on."

"Because you're scared."

"No, because I'd like to be able to see."

Acnologia could say what he liked. Zeref wasn't buying it. Still, from what he'd seen, he didn't think the dark was going to be enough to phase his father. It was quite obvious that he did not much fear the dark anymore, as much as dislike it.

Luckily, Mavis was also quite aware of this. "Anna, there must be something else. Something he's deathly terrified of. Or a weakness, anything!"  
"No, not that I know of." Anna said. "As I said, he was a secretive man. The only reason I knew about the dark was because he had to keep the lights on when sleeping."

"Sorry if that doesn't sound like him." Anna shrugged,

"What can I say, he was cute forty years ago."

"Before or after he became a total scumbag?"

"Before, obviously." Anna said. "I'm sorry, but if information is what you're looking for, I don't have it. If you really wanted that stuff, Zeref's the one who spent 24 hours a day with that man for six years. Even then, he probably doesn't know anything."

"Even if he did, he's been taken hostage, so it wouldn't matter…"

"Does whatever plan you have involve me knowing his fears?"

"No, I've made counter measures for that, as I knew it was unlikely. Still, I hoped you would be able to tell me. It would certainly be easier that way."

"Well, then that explains why I don't know. I think the universe is bent on making us work as hard as possible."

"That's the truth."

"So that in the end we'll have faced hardship together. You can't possibly stand there and tell me that things are the same as they've always been."

"What things?"

"All things." Anna responded. Mavis was still confused. All things… did she mean relationships between demons and angels?

"I don't know Anna…" Mavis said. "They're different then I expected but that does not mean that… that I'm okay with them doing the things they do!"

"What things?"

"You know! Like… like taking humans from earth! That is strictly forbidden!"

"My dear, do you know how long ago that was?" Anna asked. "If angels can marry demons and bear their children, then why can't humans live in hell. You know they already know of us. What with Acnologia running rampant around on Earth. Do you understand? Even the greatest of enemies can become allies, and even the most horrid people can understand their wrongs."

"I…" Mavis looked away. "You're right, Anna. You usually are but… even if I were to reconciliate with demons what then?"

"Well, after that you'd live in peace with them. Half the time I think the reason this war is still continuing is because we angels and demons have nothing better to do with our time."

"That's! That's! That's… true." Mavis admitted guiltily. Because while it was true that at one point the demon lord had just been the embodiment of evil in her mind she now saw that… he was angelic and he had human qualities as well. By being with him, all demons, she had learned about sides of herself she hadn't even known existed. For example, she had never known how easy it was to get angry at someone who was being annoying. Mostly because everyone she knew wasn't really annoying, or if they were, she hadn't noticed it.

"You're right, Anna. But it is a rule as old as time, and it is a good rule. Think, if we had human running around rampant not only would that compromise our way of living, but it would drive us all to insanity… especially human children…" she muttered as an afterthought, thinking of Gray, the little devil. "Anna, I would love it, we all would, if you would help us. Stand up and fight."

"Well, I would but there's a barrier keeping me in at the moment." Anna said.

"I'll break it, just tell me you will." Mavis said. Anna frowned for a moment.

"I don't know…" she said softly.

"I know it's asking a lot."

"Yeah, it is. I mean, you're asking me to go against the man who locked me in here, the man I married for 23 years, the man I used to love, the one who gave me my two beautiful children, you ask me to help you? Well you know what I say to that?"

"Um… no?"

"Hell yes." Anna stood up, a smirk on her face. "Let's knock that scum off the face of the universe."

"Anna's awesome." Zeref said.

"Calling your mother by her first name… such disrespect." Zeref snorted,

"Well, it's not like I ever really thought of her as a mother." He said. "And it's not as if she minds. To be honest, I don't think she really thinks of me as her son either… but I couldn't be sure."

"If there ever was an angel that was strong I suppose your mother was it. She could stand seeing your face every day, after all."

"Ha ha." Zeref grumbled sarcastically.

"It's true. You were an ugly baby." Zeref glared at him, wondering how angry his father would get if Zeref were to punch him. "She loved you all the same though, even though you cost her everything. I'm not sure if I could've loved you if you'd taken everything from me. But she did, so I guess that's what matters."

Zeref rolled his eyes. "Babies are the root of all evil. They may look cute an innocent but as soon as they can lift their head they'll bite you!"

"Only if you're an idiot and put your finger in their mouth." Acnologia said. "Why? Did you put your finger there like an idiot and they bite it?"

"Maybe…" Zeref said. "But you did it once too, you know you did!"

"Perhaps once, but I cannot seem to recall."

"Ugh!" Zeref jumped up from the bed. Waiting here was getting incredibly boring. He had the slight urge to whine about how much longer hey were going to be in here, but managed to hold the whine in his voice back, "How much longer?"

"What, are you bored?"

"Yes." Zeref admitted truly seeing no point in lying.

"Then why don't you dance around like the child you are."

"I don't wish to dance around. And I am most certainly not a child."

"Then be patient like an adult." Acnologia said and Zeref shook his fist. "And what happened to your fear? I thought even if you had no respect you at least feared me."

"I'm too annoyed to be scared."

"Annoyed, what a wonderful word… I should use it more often."

Meanwhile Mavis and the others gathered back in the hall. Mavis had broken down the west wing barrier which honestly hadn't been too complicated since it had been weakening over the years. One little push and the spell had broken. Any angel could've done it, really. Plus with all the destructive magic in the air, it was slowly chipping away at the barrier making it even weaker.

"Alright everybody, we're going to go to Zeref's room where he's keeping Zeref!"

"How do you know?"

"I don't. It's just the most obvious place, so he thought we'd look there last, when truly we are looking there first… because it is the most obvious."

"Crap…" was all Acnologia could say, staring at the screen.

* * *

 **A/N I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Just so everybody is clear Acnologia is NOT afraid of the dark, but he dislikes it. Kind of like how you would dislike eating dirt :)**

 **Anyway, so thanks for reading, next chapter is the final battle I PROMISE no more beating around the bush. Zeref and Mavis are going to try their best and NOTHING is going to interfere. I won't tell you why, but you'll probably hate me next chapter. Just saying! ;)**

 **As always reviews/favorites/follows appreciated! Thank you for your support!**


	17. Chapter 17

So, the large group started storming the castle, with both their weapons and heads held high. Invel was the one who knew where Zeref's room was best, so he was leading the way, everyone else following closely behind.

Even Igneel, Metalicanna, Weissalogia, and Skiadrum were limping along to help them. "So, this is it? We're finally going to see if we win or lose?" Yuri asked Mavis.

"First of all," Mavis said, "I'm so happy to see you. Second, yes. This time there will be no retreating. We will fight until the end, whichever end it may end up being."

Yuri nodded gravely, "And what happens after?"

"I have not decided." Mavis said simply, brushing off his question because she had bigger things to worry about.

Invel led them directly to Zeref though, to be honest, it was harder than one might've thought. Several deadly traps laid in their path and it was impossible to go around them, no matter what route they took. But, eventually they found a hallway that allowed them to pass through unhindered… though… it was more like they _made_ a hallway that let them pass through unhindered. With no more detours it was rather easy to spot his room. Especially since the door had his name scrawled across the front in surprisingly loopy letters.

The doors in front of them, burst open before any of them could open the door themselves. Thankfully Invel was the only one in the way so he got blasted by the door. The rest of them, lay uninjured.

Acnologia walked out the open door, dragging Zeref along with him, kicking and shouting a long line of obscenities. "Let go!" he wrenched his arm out from Acnologia's grip and glared at him. Acnologia ignored this and said nastily,

"Give it your best shot."

"We will." Mavis said, her eyes hard. "Zeref," Mavis shouted, "Do _it_ now!" Zeref seemed to instantly know what she meant. Acnologia glanced at him as Zeref held out his hands. In them, appeared his demon sword. Zeref wrapped his fingers around the blade and thrust it up. Acnologia raised his hand to catch it, but it just sliced right through his fingers. Zeref only pulled back at the last moment so it didn't slice his father's head off. In the end he simply kicked him in the stomach, sending the man flying.

Acnologia, twisted around and landed on his feet, despite how powerful the kick had been. He coughed slightly, blood trailing down his chin. "I think it's time for you to give it your best shot." Zeref said smugly. He enjoyed his father's surprised expression, probably a lot more than he should've.

"You have the demons' sword… how can you lift such a thing?"

"I guess I just… I guess I just found the right person to help me out." He glanced at Mavis, who smiled slightly at him, making Zeref's hands sweat a little more than usual. Acnologia was looking between Mavis and Zeref, his mind spinning to reach the correct conclusion.

"You two… you two are lovers?"

Zeref furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and Mavis seemed to choke on the air she breathed, descending into a coughing fit. "What do you mean?" Zeref asked.

"… I never talked with you about the birds and the bees, did I? I'm assuming your mother didn't either."

"Wait, no, that's not what this is about! I know what… what _that_ is, I just don't know why you would think it of the two of us."

"Well, when you argue like an old married couple… people are going to get the wrong idea." Grandine said.

"I do not want to talk about this right now." Zeref grumbled. "You're just trying to distract us so that you can figure out a strategy to beat us, but you can't! This sword is our trump card, and now that we have it, my power is as powerful as I'm ever going to get it! So… now, Mavis's and I, when we combine our attacks it should be enough to overcome even your resistance to magic."

"Foolish, you don't truly believe that."

"I do. I'm only sad that Natsu never got the chance to know his father. Though, in a way, I'm glad he didn't."

That stung slightly but it was to be expected since Zeref was soft. Acnologia bet that Natsu could've taken his punishments better than Zeref ever had or ever would. "Fine, if that's how you feel, as if I'm not good enough to be your and Natsu's father, then perhaps neither of you are good enough to be sons." So perhaps, he should stop thinking like a father, and just kill them.

"That is not what I'm saying. No one gets to choose their family, and I'm grateful that I even had one to grow up with, because not everyone does. You were horrible, and there was a time when I would have a panic attack, just by hearing your name, or even a reference to you. But there are worse things… there are always worse things. I suppose I would rather grow up with a terrible father, then to never have had one to begin with."

"What, like the age-old question?" Mavis wondered aloud. Some in the crowd were confused, while others understood.

"Is it better to have loved and lost, or to have never loved at all." Grandine said quietly.

"Is it better to have had and lost a father who I once looked up to, or to never have had a father to begin with." Zeref said quietly, thinking of Gray's situation. Zeref had been there, of course but… had he really been a good father figure to Gray? He didn't think so.

"People have different answers to this question each picking a side. For me, it's better to have had and lost a father." Zeref said. "At least I experienced that feeling, whereas if I had never had one, then I would never have gotten that experience. Those seven years of my life were worth it, in anyway."

"While that's true, some would argue that it's better to not have had one at all. If that's the case you would never know what it was like, and you would never have anything to miss." Mavis whispered, thinking of her own father. She'd never met him, but her mother had told her he was a good man.

"Yes, but others would say that even if you never knew what it was like, you would still miss it. Because you would see others with that bond and know that you were missing something." Grandine said.

"So, in the end I believe it's better to have found and lost, rather then never find at all." Zeref concluded. Acnologia only frowned, staring at him. "I wish you could just leave, and everything could go back to how it was…" Zeref said.

"We all know it's too late for that." Acnologia told him.

"Maybe it is." Zeref said. "But that doesn't make what I have to do any easier." Acnologia rolled his eyes,

"You talk like you can actually kill me."

"Maybe… because I can." Zeref held out his hand and Mavis grabbed it. Her spear flew into her hand and they both held up their own respective weapons. "Is this really it?" Zeref whispered questioningly, turning to her.

"Of this misadventure. There'll probably be more though." She said. Zeref didn't know whether or not this would kill his father, did not know if this would even injure his father, he just didn't know. What he did know was that this was their last chance. If they failed, no doubt the dragon army would switch sides when they saw they lost, and the rest of their soldiers would probably try to hopelessly attack.

The dragon slayers, despite their name, had no shot since they were only children and Grandine could not take him on by herself, the other dragons of the original revolution too hurt to fight back. It'd be a nightmare for everyone, and they'd all probably die.

Zeref really didn't want that to happen, so he decided that if this attack did not end it, then nothing would. Together, their weapons clinked and darkness, light, swirled together, creating gray. "Will it kill him?" Zeref asked.

"I don't know." Mavis responded. "Do you hope it does?"

Zeref glanced at her, "I don't care anymore… let's just defeat him. If he lives then he does, if he dies then he does, I don't care any longer."

They thrust their weapons forward and the huge attack shot forward. Acnologia opened his mouth and started eating the attack but, the two of them just kept adding more and more power, faster than Acnologia could consume.

Zeref felt weaker and weaker as the seconds wore on, and the only thing holding him up was Mavis' magic and he was pretty sure the only thing keeping her up was his.

Acnologia was blasted backwards, slamming into the wall behind him. Zeref could barely keep his eyes open, watching as the smoke cleared. His father lay there motionless, his body twitching.

Zeref collapsed, Mavis falling on top of him, making him groan. Slowly, Acnologia stood, his body shaking. Whether it was from rage or exhaustion Zeref did not know. He squinted as his father walked a few steps, before losing his strength and falling again.

Zeref let out a tiny sigh of relief, it had worked. "What do we do now, your majesties?" Invel asked quietly. Zeref didn't know, everything was fading in and out of focus.

On top of him, Mavis struggled to stand up, succeeding by leaning heavily on the wall next to her. "You… won't win." Acnologia rasped, his fingers still twitching.

Zeref slowly got up beside Mavis, stumbling a few times before he succeeded. "Give it up. You're done." He said.

"I don't… think so." Zeref watched hazily as Acnologia lifted his palm. Everyone was confused, having no idea what he was about to do. In his lazy state of mind a memory came to him, memory of this exact spell. The spell he'd used on Zeref a countless amount of times, one that made Zeref want to die it was so painful.

It made his body shut down it was so painful, and if left there long enough it would kill them. "Don't let him—!" the spell was fired so quickly Zeref didn't have time to get the words out.

"Die!" he shouted, the attack aimed at Mavis. Zeref didn't even think about what he was doing, didn't even know he had the strength to move so quickly. The spell of swirling darkness hit him square in the chest as he dove in front of her. He felt his insides constrict and then a scream tore itself from his throat.

"Zeref!" Mavis cried, dropping to her knees beside him. Zeref groaned and writhed on the tiled floor, his entire body screaming. But Zeref knew he was handling the pain much better than Mavis would've. He was a little more used to it, a little more familiar with that word. Mavis felt tears prick her eyes and her limbs start to shake.

She whirled on Acnologia screaming, "How do we fix it!" but he had passed out long before that.

"The only way to undo this, is for either the caster to cancel it, or for the caster to die." Grandine said. Mavis' tears dropped onto her pale hands that clenched into fists.

"Then I'll kill him myself." She snarled, standing.

"Don't." Zeref rasped, his body shaking from the effort of being alive. "Don't… k-kill." That's all he got out before a scream tore itself from his throat.

She had a choice to make, ignore Zeref and kill his father anyway, or wait and watch as Zeref died a most painful death. "Grandine, keep him awake, please." Mavis was terrified that if Zeref was left to sleep, he would never wake up. Grandine nodded and Wendy, started to heal him, just to stop the spell from doing more damage then it already had. "Wake up!" she screamed at Acnologia, kicking him once, twice. Now she was regretting wounding him so terribly. She needed him awake, she needed… Mavis felt her patience wearing thin, Zeref's screams in the background not helping in the slightest.

She thought about what she had just said. She'd just said she was going to kill this man. She, an angel, had been threatening to murder someone… and it was Zeref who'd stopped her, perhaps only proving Anna's point. That no matter what species they were, they all had humanity inside them, guiding them along the path they chose.

"Wake up!" she screamed again. She didn't want Wendy healing Acnologia, what if while she was doing that, Zeref died? Perhaps the angels here, in her army could heal him. They were soldiers, so they had more fire power, but maybe they still had enough to succeed where she could not right now, since she was so drained.

Then again, if he was healed too much then… it would just be easier to kill him, and then Mavis felt horrified with herself for once again thinking of that option. She wasn't supposed to murder, nor was she supposed to want to. Mavis didn't know what to do.

This was a time of crisis and all she could do was stand there, unable to save him. "Mavis, I don't think I can hold on much longer!" Wendy cried. Mavis instructed her soldiers to take Wendy's place because the little girl really did look exhausted.

"Hey, Gray do you hear that?" Natsu mumbled to his friend. Porlyusica sat at her desk in front of them, writing notes or something like that.

"No." Gray said.

"Listen." Natsu commanded, closing his eyes. His keen ears picked up the sound again. "There it is again! You hear it, right?" Gray shook his head. Natsu frowned, "Stupid humans and their tiny ears." He grumbled quietly, standing up. "Come on, we're gonna go see what it is."

"That's stupid, we'll get caught for sure." Natsu shook his head.

"Not if we're quiet."

"That's exactly why we're gonna get caught. Unless quiet is a 50 ton dinosaur stomping around, we're gonna get caught because you wouldn't know quiet if it came up an bit you!"

"I'm being quiet now, aren't I?" Natsu countered. Gray was silent and watched as his friend slipped out of the office. He didn't really want to go search around for a mystery noise when he didn't even hear it. But, going with Natsu was better then staying here and facing Porlyusica's wrath when she found out he was missing and Gray hadn't said a word.

"Wait for me!" he whisper-shouted once he'd slipped out the door. Natsu smirked and grabbed Gray's hand.

"Hurry!" so they ran through the halls, Natsu guiding them because Gray still couldn't hear a thing. But eventually, as they drew far nearer Gray started to hear something too.

"I hear it!" he cried, suddenly interested, because now Natsu wasn't crazy; either that or they were both crazy, which was a valid possibility.

"Told you!" Natsu exclaimed, smirking. Gray begrudgingly admitted to himself that Natsu had been right, though he would never admit it out loud.

Soon, they turned the corner where so many people stood, the two children couldn't see over everyone else. Natsu growled in annoyance and said, "I'm going to lift you up and you're going to look around." Natsu said. Gray opened his mouth protest, but Natsu was already kneeling in front of him. "Come on, get on my shoulders, I wanna see!"

Gray sighed and did what Natsu said, because there was no way Natsu was going to shut up about it until he did so. "Okay." Gray said, climbing on Natsu's shoulders. Natsu tried to stand up once and failed.

"You're heavier than I thought." Natsu grumbled before trying again and this time succeeding.

"Shut up." Gray growled under his breath. Gray could now see above the crowd and squinted. They were all looking at something, but that something was surrounded by people. Then, he saw Mavis standing, just looking down at the ground and Gray started getting a bad feeling about all that was happening. "Natsu… we should get to the front of the crowd." He said quietly.

"How come?"

"I just think we should." Natsu shrugged and, bent his knees before taking off through the crowd, barreling through anyone who got in his way and leaving Gray to cling on to Natsu for dear life.

Soon the two of them broke through the crowd and Natsu came to a screeching halt, nearly throwing Gray off his shoulders. "Hey!" Gray cried, lurching forward, barely grounding himself.

"Sorry." Natsu grumbled, but he was glaring. Gray glanced at what Natsu was looking at. It was Acnologia. Mavis was there also and so was everyone else. As Gray surveyed the area the only person that was missing was… then his eyes went to Mavis' conflicted expression and then the team of people gathered around one area. Zeref couldn't be… couldn't be….

It took about a minute longer but Natsu soon reached the same conclusion. "Is that…" he wondered, turning to stare.

"We're losing him." one person called from the group.

"He's not going to make it." Another said defeatedly. Mavis' ears perked up at this.

"What?" she snapped.

Grandine glanced at her sorrowfully. Another scream, what Natsu must've heard, resounded throughout the room, making Gray's heartrate pick up. More screams, ones filled with pure agony.

"You mean…" Mavis trailed off.

"He's in much pain, Mavis." Grandine whispered. "At this point it's best to let him go."  
"Who're you talking about?" Natsu asked, his voice small, already knowing, but still hoping.

Mavis took a deep breath and turned to them. "Before Acnologia passed out he cast a spell, one of extreme pain. The only way to stop it, is to have him undo it, or die."

"Then I'll kill him!" Natsu insisted. Mavis clenched her fists,

"I would do it, I know I would but… your brother told me not to."

"He's delusional! He doesn't under-."

Natsu was cut off by a shriek and then nothing. Not even strained whimpers came from him. Gray was dumped on the floor as in Natsu's rush to get to the other side of the room. He threw people out of the way, until he came to the center. There, his brother lay, no longer moving, his chest still.

Natsu let out something akin to a sob, but it came out choked and strangled, like his throat refused to obey him. "Zeref." He whimpered very softly, barely catching the words himself. Soon, the other angels backed off, making room for Mavis and Gray who both walked toward him.

The two of them, knelt beside the recently nearly dead body, a few tears slipping down Mavis' cheeks, and Gray, sat there, stony-faced, his eyes glazed over.

Zeref's fingers twitched, a final sign of life. Natsu counted them, it was all he could do to stay sane. One last sound, from his throat, his eyes barely opening, before shutting closed, never to be opened again.

* * *

 **A/N Heh, told you that you would hate me. But this is NOT the end. There will be two more chapters after this and hopefully I can upload them soon. The next one tomorrow maybe and then the last Sunday?** **Hopefully. Sorry for leaving you hanging like this but check in tomorrow and there's bound to be another chapter if you check it enough times. Reviews/follows/favorites all appreciated. See you next time, bye!**


	18. Chapter 18

"Nii-chan?" Natsu whispered, his voice, for the first time in a long time, was soft and quiet, to the point of going unheard. Natsu's fingers dug into his clothes slow tears escaping his eyes. He was so pale, paler than normal, in a dead way…

"If he's dead, how come his body is still twitching?" Gray asked aloud, his voice hard.

"He may be dead." Mavis explained quietly. "But the man who made him so is not. So, the spell is still active, still tearing apart his body."

"Wake up!" Natsu screamed, glaring at him. "It is NOT funny anymore!" it had never been funny to begin with but Natsu didn't say that. "Please…" Natsu didn't know how to go on without him… he couldn't.

"He's gone, Natsu." Gray said.

"And how are you so calm!" Natsu shrieked, feeling the need to beat him up again.

"I'm not. It's just I'm used to it." Natsu furrowed his eyebrows, afraid to ask.

"Used to what?" Natsu whispered again.

"People dying." Natsu ignored him and turned back to Zeref. Why was this happening to him? Why? He didn't understand! Frustration clawed at the back of his mind. This was Acnologia's fault, all of it. Natsu had never felt such a strong desire to kill someone, and Zeref had told Mavis not to!

"Natsu, Gray!" It was Porlyusica and she had looked furious before but as she saw the one next to him she gasped. "Zeref?" she wondered, her red eyes glittering in confusion. "What happened?" she asked, slowly approaching. Natsu burst into a screeching wail that echoed.

"He's DEAD!" more heart-wrenching sobs and grief, tears flooding and Natsu didn't feel like they'd ever stop. "Help him." Natsu begged Porlyusica. She could do something, couldn't she?

"I can't save him from something like this." Porlyusica said gravely. "If I had my powers, I could've brought him back from this newly dead state and resuscitated him. I was a professional angel healer after all. But I don't have that power anymore. I can't help him."

"You have to!" Natsu cried, clinging to her. "Please!" he begged.

"If I could I would!" she snapped. "But I can't!" Natsu just stared at her for a long time. Porlyusica had never told him she couldn't do something. To the point where Natsu had been beginning to think she could turn him into a dog if she wanted.

"But… but…" he blubbered and then started crying more because Porlyusica was supposed to be able to do anything. And Zeref was supposed to be here and he was supposed to have sighed and rolled his eyes before comforting him. That was how it worked, but… Porlyusica couldn't do something, and his nii-chan lay unmoving.

"What if a professional healer came?" Natsu asked.

"If they came within the next ten minutes they could revive him, but it takes a while to reach heaven, and the spell would still be on him. So, we couldn't heal him anyway. And if we did manage to get rid of the spell, he still wouldn't live. We'd have to destroy death, and heal the soul. Destructive magic combined with healing magic but that would require both angelic and demonic magic, and it would be hard to find such opposites able to work together and heal him."

"You don't have to do any of that!" a call from the back of the crowd cried. People moved out of the way to let her through, it was Anna.

"Anna, how'd you break the seal?" Mavis asked.

"Your spell, it ate whatever was left of the seal away."

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked frowning. "What you said before, for nii-chan."

"Oh yes, you don't have to find angel and demon magic to heal him and cleanse his body of that vile magic. You don't have to find some that would work together! He has it all inside him!"

"What do you mean, Anna?" Porlyusica asked.

"He has angelic and demonic magic! All he needs to heal himself is a little help dragging that magic up and out of him. Especially the angelic part since he's never tried to do that. So, you'll have to help him."

"We can save him?" Natsu whimpered, his tears drying slightly as his eyes got big and hopeful. Anna stared at him sadly, not wanting to give him false hope.

"There's a possibility." She said. "There's always a possibility." She walked up to her son, she hadn't seen him since he was very small. "Never give up hope." She told him. "I will help him. With every bit of magic power I've stored up over the years."

"I thought you were fallen." Mavis said, frowning.

"Love stops for no being." Anna said. "Least of all a mother who's intent is saving her sons' life."

She took Zeref's pale hand and squeezed it tightly. She could still feel the warmth emanating from him. "But I can't do it alone." She turned to Mavis and Natsu and everyone, really. "Would you help me… he needs all of you."

"It does take extreme energy to revive someone." Porlyusica said. "We'll have to give it our all. Everybody in this room will have to pitch in…" Natsu opened his mouth to respond but Porlyusica was already answering. Glancing over at the unconscious body of Acnologia. "Everybody. Not to mention we still need the spell removed, otherwise he'll just die all over again."

"Then we still have the same problem as before." Gray stated quietly.  
"Not if he is healed. Not if we heal Acnologia of his wounds. He'll wake up, and he can assist us. It is risky, but it's either that or we allow Zeref to die." Mavis bit her lip, as everyone had just turned to her. She was the only ruler left still standing. The decision fell upon her. And even though it might be in her best interest… she couldn't let him die. She knew more about him then anyone else in the world (besides his father). He knew more about her then even her own mother. She had let him see, he had let her see. The pain they shared, and how they worked to overcoming it.

"We can't let him die." Mavis whispered, tears stinging the corners of her eyes, thinking, about all the experiences they had shared in a weeks' time. More then they had shared in years. "Heal him." Mavis ordered, standing.

She heard several protests around the room. "Heal him. Do NOT make me say it again." Mavis said, her eyes narrowing at the guards.

"Come on! Let's move it!" Yuri growled, pushing people forward. Mavis nodded at Yuri who winked and kept pushing. Eventually there was a crowd gathered around the fallen and Mavis watched very carefully to make sure no one lashed out and killed him. White light emanated bouncing off the dark walls and making her squint. This continued for a few minutes before Acnologia twitched, his eyes opening. The angels scrambled backward and glared at him.

"I'm alive…" he mumbled to himself.

"Yes, you are. And the only reason that's the case is because we need you." Acnologia laughed humorlessly.

"You… need me? Ha!" he descended into hysterical laughter.

"Yes, we do." Mavis said. He smirked and asked,

"For what?"

Mavis stepped out of the way allowing him to see behind her, at the huge mess that he had caused. Acnologia sat up a little more and squinted. "That spell you launched, it didn't hit me, it hit your son." She pointed to the figure. "And now he's dead!"

"And you tell me this why?" Acnologia asked, his voice coming out a bit strangled.

"Because we can fix it, but you must undo the spell! It's in your best interest to do it as well! I'm giving you a choice. A choice you don't deserve! Undo the spell and we'll revive Zeref! Or, I'll kill you myself, and we'll still revive Zeref! It's your choice." Mavis said, crossing her arms, not caring about stupid morals any longer. Like hell she was going to let Zeref die because some prick wouldn't revive him!

"He's dead though…"

"Yes, but we know a way to revive him! However, even if we do that, your spell will still be in affect meaning that he will still die! So, we need you."

His gaze slid past Mavis to the figure on the ground, Zeref was still jerking around even in his dead state.

"Why should I?"

Mavis growled under her breath, they were wasting time. "Kill him!" Yuri shouted, and Mavis didn't want to, as that went against everything she had ever been taught to believe in, but at this point she didn't really have a choice. So, she gulped,

"Hey, don't be hasty! I'll lift the spell if it's so important!"

"It is." Mavis said harshly. After another few moments, Zeref's body slumped into a motionless state, as Acnologia let go of the spell, and somehow that was almost worse than the constant jitters. Mavis felt her hands go cold, as that could be her lying on the ground… if it wasn't for him.

"Now, he needs all the energy we can give him, okay? So everyone must pitch in for this to work!" Anna said, grasping her sons' hand tightly. Soon, they all gathered around him, (well everyone except Acnologia, who was watching awkwardly). "Everyone." Anna repeated, staring at her (former) husband.

Mavis couldn't help herself from feeling awkward as well, even though she wasn't really apart of this exchange. Slowly, Acnologia came and knelt beside him, she could see slight guilt written across his face. Anna took his hand and placed it on Zeref's. A family moment, the rest of them intruders. "Why would you want me to help?" Acnologia asked. Anna didn't make any comment or move to answer his question she just commanded everyone. Her eyes said it all though, "We will discuss it, later" they said, with a harsh fierceness that Mavis hadn't known angel's were capable of.

The flow of magical power was tremendous and just being in it's presence made her feel physically ill. She could feel sweat start to drip down her face, or perhaps those were tears, or maybe both. Mavis could feel the energy pulsing in the air around her, making her hands shake. They remained in this position for such a long time, the power of destruction chasing away the coldness of death, while the power of healing gave the soul love.

A few more moments and she saw his finger twitch, only adding to her initial excitement and hope. Then, another finger twitched and she felt her hope, against her wishes, getting stronger and stronger with each passing moment as the healthy flush of life sprung to his face.

Another minute and his eyes fluttered open, gazing hazily around. "Zeref…" Natsu's eyes were wide and filled with innocent hope. Zeref, the only family he'd ever known.

"Natsu." His words were garbled and barely audible they were whispered so softly.

A few more minutes, Zeref became aware of his surroundings and could name most of the people hovering over him. He could feel their warmth and, dare he say love? "Just a few more minutes and if the energy continues to flow at this pace he shall be saved." Porlyusica stated, her eye brows furrowed in unbreakable concentration. "And please, don't move until you're better." Porlyusica added as a warning to Zeref. The real message was clear though, "You move and I'll kill you."

So, like any sane being, Zeref stayed right where he was and waited as they continued the process. "It is done." Anna said when those minutes had past, and she slumped forward, conveniently landing in Zeref's arms. And he held her, worried for his mother's health, as she looked rather pale and was breathing rather heavily.

"Mother…" Zeref breathed, calling her such a thing for the first time in years and Anna was relieved, hearing that title uttered from his lips. Natsu was only confused,

"Mother?" Natsu was silent for a few moments, obviously trying to reach a conclusion. Then, he turned to Mavis and said, "Something's wrong. I think you didn't twist his head on quite right. Because that's Anna."

Zeref chuckled slightly. "I'm not having memory problems, Natsu, I simply… I simply remembered something I knew all along." Natsu didn't say anything for a few minutes, just sat there and then threw himself at his brother, not caring about how weird he was being anymore. Zeref was here, and he was alive. Tears of relief and happiness ran down his cheeks, as he clutched Zeref's shirt as tight as his fingers allowed.

Zeref wrapped his free arm around his younger brother and held him tightly as Natsu was holding him. "I thought you were dead!" he sobbed.

"I could never leave you." Zeref whispered back.

Mavis herself, couldn't help but shed a few tears at the scene because… it was just so happy and everyone was together, and no blood was being shed. And behind her, someone cleared their throat.

Zeref glanced up and his eyes met that of his father's. Mavis noticed the way Zeref's grip tightened around his mother and Natsu. "Yes?" he asked softly. Acnologia cleared his throat and said,

"I'm sorry." If Mavis looked close enough she could see the slight twinge of guilt in his eye, and she heard it in his voice. If anything, this apology made her angry. Was this it! That's all he had to say! 'I'm sorry?' what kind of apology was that, and Mavis was about to say so, but Zeref interrupted,

"What sort of apology is that? You think you can just say that and everything will be okay?"

"Well, no… but what else could I do?"  
"What could you do?" Zeref snarled, standing up. "WHAT COULD YOU DO? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU COULD DO…" Zeref glared at him, crossing his arms. "… Nothing. You can't do anything else." Zeref's jaw clenched and he glared at the ground.

"I know now, that I hurt you, boy… so for that I'm sorry."

"Hurt him! You tortured him!" Anna growled, her voice weak and thin, with a clipped tone, impatient and annoyed. "If I were him, I'd despise you, in fact, I already do! And I wasn't even tortured."

"Well, I'm not asking for your forgiveness, am I?" Acnologia asked sharply, the two former lovers glared at each other. They could all literally feel the feelings of hatred radiating off the two.

Before the reunion could become a crime scene, Zeref jumped into the conversation, "Father… at one point, the very mention of you would send me into a full-blown panic attack. As the years wore on, things got better for me but when you called that night I was scared out of my mind."

"I could tell." Acnologia interjected. Of course he had. It wasn't like Zeref had gone to great lengths to hide that fear. In fact, Zeref had been able to tell that his father liked he was afraid… or perhaps he had interpreted the emotions as respect.

"I see… then you understand."

"I do… I will leave now."

Zeref felt slight sadness, tugging at his heart strings as he watched his father leave. He didn't quite know how it was possible to love and hate someone at the exact same time, but that was how he felt. "Father…"

"I shall come back once I have trained to become a kinder, more fatherly type of person."

"… I don't think you can train for something like that." Zeref said.

"Actually, humans have books. And they take parenting classes too… though I think it's usually mom's who go to that. Still, sometimes they go as a couple… or is that couple's counceling?" Gray trailed off as he tried to think of the right facts he'd read in books.

"They have parenting classes?" Natsu asked, incredulous and slightly weirded out.

"Yeah." Gray said. "Humans do a lot of weird stuff. I mean, do you know how they make babies?"

"OKAY, that's enough talk about that." Zeref said, wondering what sort of books Gray had been reading.

"I learned that in a book called the art of love making."

"Why did you pick that up?" Natsu asked.

Gray shrugged, "Well I had to learn how to read somehow, and I ran out of magic books since I'd already learned ice magic." So, that's where he'd learned it. He must've read them while with Anna. And Zeref hadn't known there was an art for "love making", but he ignored the two as they sky-rocketed into a more… adult conversation then he would've preferred.

"Father… dad, why don't you just." Zeref had a hard time getting the words out, feeling this becoming more and more awkward as time went on. "Just stay here."

Protests immediately rose around them but one sharp glare from Zeref shut them all up. Well… most of them. "But why!" Natsu whined, tugging at his sleeve.

"Because he's our father." Zeref snapped. "And if I say he stays then he is sure as hell staying! My word is law."

"I taught you that." Acnologia said fondly. Zeref wasn't quite as fond of that lesson as that included watching as people bent over backwards to his father's will and that had been less than appealing at the time he was five, when he was more interested in playing superheroes.

"I know." Zeref said quietly. He'd said that he could never live with his father again, that's why he'd fought so hard in this war. To end it. He convinced himself that this was different. It was on his own terms and if worse came to worse… Zeref didn't want to think about that. "So, will you?"

"If it's alright. I want to… get to know Natsu."

"You tried to kill me." Natsu accused lightly, though he wasn't really mad. To be honest, Zeref was scarier and when he said he was going to kill Natsu, Natsu knew he was in deep trouble. Gray always said that too, and Porlyusica, and even that stray blue cat outside would give him that murderous look every once in a while, so he was used to it.

"Sorry."

Natsu thought about that apology and Zeref was about to complain that it was not acceptable and that he could at least bother to put an "I'm" at the front when Natsu interjected, "Okay, I forgive you!" with such childish innocence Zeref hadn't known he still possessed, and that he wasn't going to let his father ruin.

Regardless, Zeref knew as everyone started to crowd together, that he had to go somewhere quieter. He felt a little ill and tired still, and while everyone else may want to party, Zeref just wanted to curl up with a good book (which seemed like it hadn't happened in centuries). Especially since Anna was always in the library and Zeref wasn't usually in the mood to deal with his mother.

Everything was quite noisy already, as everyone started talking at once, but somehow, through the crowd a voice boomed in what should be an impossibly loud volume for a child his size, "HEY! HOW COME, IF ACONOLOGIA'S A DEMON, HE CAN TURN INTO A DRAGON!" Natsu bellowed at the top of his lungs. Everyone grew silent and turned to the one who should know.

Acnologia shrugged. "I don't know."

Natsu was silent, angry that his question had not been answered like it so often was. "But…" he trailed off. "But that's no fair! Your my dad so you've got all the answers!"

"That's actually not how it works." Anna tried to explain to her son, but he wasn't having any of it.

"No! I want to know."

"Stop being a brat, Natsu." Zeref said tiredly, sending his little brother "the look". The kind that children got whenever they were about to be in trouble. So, Natsu did the only thing he could. Stick out his tongue at Zeref and run off, and that was the end of that discussion topic.

So, with his little brother reined in, Zeref left to somewhere more secluded, which just so happened to be where Mavis was. He hadn't even noticed she'd left the room. "Hey." He said quietly, awkwardly. Mavis glanced up at him, her eyes widening slightly. Their orbs locked and a faint blush sprang to her cheeks. "Oh, hi." She said and sighed. "You know, you really scared all of us."

"Sorry." Zeref mumbled a half-hearted apology.

"You don't sound sorry." He shrugged.

"I guess I'm sorry for making you worry, but I'm not sorry for taking the hit."

"I see…" she sighed and stood up, facing him. "You got yourself into so much trouble this week." She chuckled lightly. "And I've been thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself." Zeref said, smiling slightly at his own jab. She gave one back, quite literally, smacking his arm playfully with that rueful smile of hers.

"About after this. I guess I don't know how you feel, but I feel like things can't go back to how they were before. Not when I know so much about you, and not when I've fought beside you. It would just feel too strange for me."

"I understand, I feel the same."

"Your life belongs to me now, you promised. Do you intend to keep it still?"

"… I do." for some reason that made him think of human matrimony and made the tips of his ears go red, but other than that, he kept a straight face.

Things couldn't go back to how they had been, that's what she had said. Did she mean that… that she was going to wipe them out now? He couldn't stop the thought, but rejected it instantly. "Then… I'll tell you what I planned to do. After this war, I'd make you stand down, destroy anyone who resisted, and lock the rest into the deepest dungeons that we have. The humans we would return to Earth, and angels, we would be the only supreme beings left. Next to the Gods, of course." This made his heart start beating faster. This was what she planned? "Now, I'll tell you what I plan to do."

Her plan had been past tense. She wasn't going to do that anymore, but Zeref wouldn't allow himself to relax yet. "I… I demand that you sign my peace treaty. My new one. Our two races will live in harmony, we shall be equal and friendly with one another."

"That's never been done before." Zeref breathed.

"Let us make heaven and hell one… let us make Earth." She said, her eyes never leaving his. He felt his heart stop. Heaven and Hell one… the way she had worded that, so specifically.

"But that…" he trailed off. "To become one we must…"

"Be joined in holy matrimony, I know. It's a goal, one that doesn't have to take affect until much later—and don't faint! Just stand upright and keep a cool head!"

Mavis helped him to the ground, her eyes slightly concerned. "Your face is rather red." She said, checking for fever. "Are you okay?"

"I'm quite alright. Just need a moment." He said quietly, his heart still racing. Mavis smiled slightly,

"I freaked you out that much?" she wondered amusedly.

"No! It's not that!" he said quickly and flushed redder. "I just… you just caught me by surprise, that's all."

"Well, I don't want to talk about that anymore. That's well into the future. What I want to talk about, is your death experience." Zeref nodded. "What was it like?" she asked, again, curious.

"Nothing special. I can't even remember." Zeref said, frowning as he thought.

"Alright, well, are you okay?"

"A bit tired and weak, but I should be fine soon." Zeref said. Mavis sighed in relief. "I'm glad. I was so worried." Zeref couldn't help but be glad that she was worried, even if it was a greedy thought. Mavis smiled and she added, "I thought I'd lost you."

"You can't get rid of me that easily." Zeref said, feeling her get closer with every sentence spoken. Green, beautiful eyes pierced him, and he thought back to that very first day he'd met her. On the battlefield, she'd looked him in the eyes, with those same piercing emerald orbs.

"I will kill you today." She had said, and Zeref had scoffed, disbelieving the way she could be so confident in her words when it was highly unlikely they would prove to be true. He hadn't realized it, then, that his heart had been pounding. He thought it was from rage, but maybe not. Maybe that was just his head's excuse, because as she drew near he could feel his heart still pounding, but it was certainly not with rage or even fear.

Her closeness made him tremble slightly, his eyes wide, asking her silently what she was doing, and begging her internally to be doing what he thought she was doing. Because, if she wasn't doing what he thought she was doing then this encounter would get real awkward real fast. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"I'm so happy, I believe that I could kiss you." The cheesy line made him cringe, causing her to laugh. "Corny, huh?"

"I feel like I'm in a ridiculous, completely unrealistic, forbidden love, romance novel."

"Well too bad, because this is real life, not a book. And in this real world, I want you." Her face had gone red, her fingers trembling slightly.

"But…" Zeref was silent, doubt creeping into his mind. "I don't want to end up like my parents." He remembered the heated looks of pure hatred they had given each other moments before.

"That won't happen, because we're different from them. I'm not your mother, and you're not your father. We won't let that happen to us. I promise." Zeref wanted to believe her words, hoped he could trust her, but at the same time it was just another excuse to get out of what he was nervous about doing.

"Why do you want me? I'm your enemy… was your enemy. It's not even been a week."

"It's been far more than a week Zeref. I've known you since we were both very young. The first time we met I was little more than five years old. I didn't know your name, but I remember your face. You were so scared. I don't know why you would even ask me such a useless question. Tell me, what makes you want me?"

"I don't know…" Zeref whispered. "You're beautiful, inside and out."

"As are you. We can't always know what the heart wants, or why it wants what it does. The heart is hungry for love, wanting, needing it. In the end, it doesn't even matter why. What matters, is that it's real." Her lips captured his and he felt heat burst inside him, tingling it's way through his body to his very finger tips.

Soft and quick, filled with newborn passion, shaped exactly like how a first kiss should be. It was awkward and messy but it didn't matter. He'd felt her smile against him, and that had been all he needed. But passion died, love was forever. They just needed to figure out what they were. Mavis giggled and then kissed him again, a little more intimate this time, sucking his bottom lip and demanding he open, so he did.

It felt odd, her tongue against his, but he figured that everything would feel odd the first time. "Relax." She mumbled, her arms wrapping around him. "Your all tense." He couldn't help it, he was nervous.

"Not like your any better." He grumbled between kisses. Hesitantly, he placed his hand on her leg and started lightly trailing up, making her squirm and moan. Things were getting good, his hand traveled up her stomach and he—

"Oh my God…" they paused at the voice and whirled around, eyes widening. Natsu stood in the doorway his eyes bigger than saucers. Zeref, embarrassed, wondered how long he had been staring there. "PDA, PDA!" He shouted. "GRAY GET IN HERE! ZEREF'S ABOUT TO MAKE BABIES!" Zeref flushed bright red and the two quickly scrambled away from each other.

"Natsu! D-don't shout that!" Zeref whisper-shouted to his brother, his face so inflamed he thought it might burn off. His brother had caught him making-out, it was so embarrassing! They should've been more careful, but they hadn't and paid the price. Zeref and Mavis glanced at each other, before looking away quickly.

Unfortunately, neither of them thought they'd be able to kiss for a while, without thinking of this encounter with his little brother. They heard a few people coming down the hall and moved even further away from each other, Natsu still screaming his head off about how they were committing PDA,

"BABIES I TELL YOU, BABIES!"

* * *

 **A/N Here you go, the chapter you've all been waiting for since chapter one. They've finally kissed! Yay! I thought about making it a cheek kiss but then figured you guys have been waiting for SO long, that I can't cheat you like that. This is the first time I've tried to write a French Kiss. I actually think it's kind of gross but... well, lot's of romance writers and fanfiction-writers do it so I figured I'd give it a try. So, I hope it's okay and I'm sorry for cutting off the romantic scene the way I did. Especially when things were getting hot and heavy but this is a T-rated fic and Natsu kept me in check. Thanks Natsu! The epilogue will be here Sunday, I just want to make sure it's perfect. I guess you don't HAVE to read it, but there'll be a few more kisses so ;). And you get to find out what happens to everybody. I decided to basically give everyone a happy ending, even Acnologia. And when Natsu yelled about "How can Acnologia turn into a dragon even though he's a demon?"... that's a plot hole I found, actually that I have no idea how to fix, so I made it into a funny line. I hope you guys enjoyed reading. Reviews/favorites/follows all appreciated. Your opinions would be well-appreciated. See you guys Sunday, bye!**


	19. Epilogue

The child on her lap giggled with amusement when she finished her story. The woman smiled laughing softly as well. "They were embarrassed, huh mama." He said, grinning.

"Yes dear, they were." She gently pressed a kiss to her son's temple. She had told him the story from start to finish (cutting out the gruesome parts of course, and refusing to call the characters by their real names).

"So mama, did Alios and Mio live happily ever after?"

"Yes my son, they did."

"What happened to them?" he asked.

"Well, they grew up and they got married and they had two beautiful children." Her son's eyes were wide. "He was the king of hell, her, the angel of heaven, and they built a beautiful castle in the middle of the two realms, where they raised their lovely children and continue to raise them still."

The young boy twisted on his mothers lap and wrapped his arms around her, green eyes filled with wonder. "Mama, that sounds like us."

"Like us? Why is that?"

"Well, you have two children, and WE live in a castle between the two realms. But I thought your name was Mavis, mama."

"It is. That's why I can't be the woman in the story, right?" the young child frowned and rested his head on his mother's shoulder.

"Yeah, you're right." He said and giggled. "Silly me." He mumbled. Mavis smiled and helped her son into bed, tucking him in tight. "Is daddy coming?"

"He's just finishing up with your brother. Don't worry, he'll be in here soon." the young child smiled and they waited patiently for a few minutes. They heard footsteps in the hall. Loud, heavy ones and then just behind them, the small pattering of a child, and then an,

"I hate you!" before the door burst open and a slightly older child than the first came through the door, a young man behind him.

"Deal with your son please." The young, dark-haired man said and then slammed the door shut behind him. In the elder's eyes were not fear but unbridled rage and a string of curses came from his mouth, calling his father a bunch of names.

"August!" Mavis cried, appalled by such curses. The child had been named after Zeref's strongest general. "Do NOT call your father such things!" she shouted, dragging him by the arm, on to her lap, trapping him in her arms before he could run after Zeref, screaming at him.

"I hate him!" he turned to Mavis furiously.

"For what?" Mavis asked softly. August slumped into her hold, sobbing lightly.

"He was teaching me about becoming king and what to do if war broke out and stuff, but I wasn't getting it! He didn't say anything but I could tell he was getting frustrated. And when I asked him if he was disappointed in me he LIED! He said he wasn't, but I can tell he is!"

"August…" Mavis said her eyes softening. "Daddy wasn't mad at you, he wasn't disappointed in you. If anything, he was mad and disappointed in himself for having a hard time teaching you the way you need to be taught."

"But-!"

Mavis put a finger to his son's lips. "Hush. I'll talk to him." she placed August on his brother's bed and then left.

"Your in trouble." The younger said mischievously.

"Shut up." August grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Zeref?" Mavis wondered, coming into his study where her husband could be heard shouting.

"Idiot, stupid, block-head, ignorant, unlovable, prick!"

"You shouldn't call yourself those things." Mavis said quietly from the doorway. Zeref lifted his head from his arms, frowning at her.

"What do I do, Mavis? I can't help him… I can't teach him. I'm useless, stupid!" He slammed his open palm on the desk and then winced. Mavis came over and gently kissed him.

"You're trying your best." She said, smiling brightly. "August is smart, he'll understand if you just keep trying to teach him. He's pretty upset right now. He thinks your disappointed in him, and then lied about it."

"I would never be disappointed in him for something like that." Zeref said, appalled. "How can he even begin to think that?" Mavis shrugged.

"All he needs is your love and reassurance. He doesn't mean everything he says, I promise. So, as long as you teach him how to become a ruler, and read and write and put a stop to his profanity." She gave Zeref a look at that, knowing where he learned it. Zeref gave her a sheepish smile, his cheeks reddening slightly. "Then I'll teach him morals, right from wrong, how to make friends and stuff. That's what we agreed on."

Zeref nodded, knowing she was right.

"Okay." He said. "I'll talk to him." he gave her another kiss and then started to get up and go to his son.

"Daddy's gonna be mad that you said that stuff about him." Larcade said, on his stomach, swinging his feet back and forth.

"I know." August stated, looking glum. "I just hope he knows I'm not lying when I say that I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." August glanced up to meet his father's gaze and started sniffling. Zeref smiled and opened his arms for August to run to.

"Aw." Mavis said, smiling, watching her adorable son and husband hug out their anger and stubbornness.

Larcade pouted, sad he was missing out on hugs and the more fine-tempered and affection-seeking boy ran to him, demanding attention too. "My three favorite boys." She said pleasantly, joining their hug and kissing each of them on the forehead. "I love you all so much."

And after they were finished the happy couple tucked their sons in, whispering they loved them more than anything in the world, and then leaving. "That boy is the biggest pain…" Zeref said, smiling fondly. Mavis giggled.

"I think that title belongs to you." She said and tapped his nose to which he scowled.

"Is that so? Well then what about Gray and Natsu?"

"The nightmare duo? Ha! I guess your right, they've got both you and August beat."

"There's a reason they're the nightmare duo."

"Let's just be glad they've got girlfriends and their own place." Mavis said. Having the two in the castle only got worse as they got older until Zeref demanded they move out to keep some semblance of sanity.

"I'm glad they found happiness… and my father and mother too, I suppose." Acnologia had left the castle a while ago after he claimed that he couldn't take anymore of the hags' (Annas') bull, and went to Earth to find a good place to live, and no one had heard of him since. Anna came to visit them often, but at the moment she was with Natsu and his girlfriend. The happy couple was glad for that, otherwise she'd be hear reminding them to brush their teeth like they were August and Larcade's age.

"And Porlyusica." Mavis added, thinking fondly of the woman who had followed Acnologia to Earth because she wanted some rare herbs that could only be found there. She hadn't been back, and they missed her, but they had hope she'd one day return. Everyone else was still serving Zeref and Mavis, happy that they were happy and allowing angel/demon relationships now that there was no prejudice. And hopefully, there never would be again.

"So, did you tell him the story?" Zeref asked softly. "Like you said you were going to?"

"Yes, I did." Mavis said, grinning.

"And what was the ending? Please tell me it was happy this time. Last time you scared August to death when you said Alios died and everyone mourned his death. And Mio went crazy killing everyone in the room before wallowing in a life of insanity forever… you gave me nightmares with that one." Mavis giggled nervously.

"Don't worry, Zeref. I learned my lesson. I told him the truth." She cupped his cheeks and moved to kiss him on the mouth (which they couldn't do with children around at the risk of being disgusting).

"So, it was a happy ending."

Mavis laughed. "And then some. And it wasn't an ending. It was a beginning. The story will keep going on. Repeated over and over again." she kissed him hard, with passion and love and he gave in to whatever her heart desired of him. After minutes of kissing and hair grasping and groping, Zeref pulled away long enough to smile and gasp,

"And they lived happily-ever-after." He whispered.

And so it was.

THE END

* * *

 **A/N That's the end! Yay, I'm so excited and happy. It feels really good to finish something! So um, the version of the story Mavis told August... that was the original ending hahaha... a very early stage ending. But be glad I didn't keep it. To be honest, I like this ending MUCH better. So thank you guys so much for reading this and sticking with me! I hope you enjoyed it the entire way through. This is the last chapter so I'm pretty much done with this and have no plans for a sequel. Your thoughts are very much appreciated as are reviews/follows/favorites. I have other stories you can check out if you liked this one so I have those about Zeref and possibly Mavis too. So if you want you can give those a try too. Thanks for reading, Bye!**


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